Out of Words

My friend wrote a blog with the same title. I have had an interesting problem with this reality though not for the same reasons as hers. But I feel like if we’re both in this boat, we can share a title. I need all the help I can get!

This week has been spent wishing I had a dictionary to point out the thoughts, phrases or simple nouns that I wanted to convey to various people. At track practice I couldn’t spit out or remember (hard to say whether the mind or the tongue was the culprit) the name of any drill. Thankfully muscle memory rarely fails me. Perhaps I should learn sign language… All that said (or unsaid) I was left moving my body to model what I wanted and using the ever so descriptive words such as “the whatchee” or “you know, This.”
Me: the Pulitzer Prize NON-contender.

Later I ran into situations when I couldn’t properly convey my thoughts and feelings without potentially saying the wrong thing that might hurt. Likewise, when I finally did string words together at an important moment, they came out in an unfortunate and embarrassing way. With such circumstances, I could cry, hoping the tears would spell out something articulate.

I recalled a song by Ben Glover, entitled “26 letters” which explains the limitation that 26 letters has on expressing emotion, hopes, fears, dreams, requests, and simple thanks. This particular song speaks of these actions as they apply to God.

26 letters is all I got
To tell You how I feel about You
26 letters and you know I'm never ever
Gonna write the perfect paragraph
I try to express
with adjectives of thankfulness
But, I don't know if I can do it
With 26 letters

And like Ben, I’m not sure I can handle 26 letters. Not that more letters would be helpful, as I can’t even remember the currently approved combinations. But perhaps like Ben, I realized that that which needs to be said holds such great weight, mere words or letters can’t bear it. What words fully express the gratitude for “being you”? What words truly reveal the desire and need for forgiveness of friends and God? What words offer the ample praise, glory and love that my God deserves?

I won’t stop trying to find the words. I quite like utilizing a vocabulary beyond simple pronouns and body movements. And I also realize after this week that words are precious, missed when not had and discouraging when used poorly.