In being like Him...we glorify Him and fulfill our purpose

"In being like Him- In creating, in speaking, in naming, in tending- we glorify Him. And we fulfill our purpose." ~Andrew Kern, Circe Institute  
(http://www.circeinstitute.org/blog/purpose-goodness-and-imagination-god)

In Creating, Speaking, Naming, and Tending, we are most like Our Creator.  How profound. Perhaps that is why I find such deep joy in creating/writing music, in creating curriculum and lesson plans to use with my children, in creating 'something from nothing' when I sew, in singing.... even in the simple- yet momentous and unchanging- moment of naming/christening my children with the name they will have from that moment on until, well, forever, I believe.

Tonight I am thinking much on the idea of how, in speaking, we glorify God and become more like Him, and thus fulfill our purpose. Perhaps I will write more later on the other aspects of being like Him, but tonight I'm focusing my thoughts on speaking- specifically words and stories.

I have always had an appreciation for words. From very young, my father instilled in me a love for reading. How I cherish pictures I have seen of me and Dad sitting on a couch: Dad reading to me, and I obviously engrossed in the story. What a gift he gave me! Thus was set the foundation and love affair I would forever have with words. Thanks to Dad, he raised me as a Lover of Stories. How I hope this is a legacy I will pass on to my own children! I believe you could say that I revere, in a sense, the power of words. I love the quote, "The pen is mightier than the sword!" (-Edward Bulwer-Lyttton) In fact, a friend of mine has taught me much through sharing with me about her own studies of fairy tales- how words, stories in fact, have the power to teach virtue, to transform, to build a solid foundation of morality and fertile ground for virtue in a child's soul . If a child is read fairy tales throughout their childhood, they are not simply being told silly, unrealistic, magical stories that have no place in the 'real world'. No! Quite the contrary!!!

One of my favorite homeschool teachers, Mr. Andrew Pudewa (http://www.excellenceinwriting.com) has given numerous talks and webinars about the idea that reading/teaching fairy tales to children is perhaps one of the most important things we can do with them (aside from modeling virtue to them by our own lives, of course!) Think of all they learn through fairy tales! Good and Evil are very clearly defined; the protagonist has a problem that must be overcome, and he/she must persevere to succeed; the hero becomes a hero through the trials and tests he/she must go through- they aren't simply born a hero; virtue is praised and held up as something to be desired and worked for; evil is shown for what it really is and certainly not candy-coated or justified....  think of it! Think of the childhood stories you remember and were such a part of the makeup of your imagination! I see them now, of course, through different 'adult lenses', but when I stop and take those glasses off and try to remember hearing these stories as a child- ah! Yes! How much sense they made, how much comfort and safety and satisfaction I found in hearing that the the Big Bad Wolf was killed by the huntsman (Little Red Riding Hood), and the Evil Stepmother was sentenced to dance in the glass slippers until her death (Cinderella), how Pinocchio overcame his vice of lying and thus became a real boy through his choice to do good and not evil, how Belle's character- kindness, compassion, and humility- are truly what saved her and her family (not so much her outer beauty- I'm not talking the Disney watered-down versions here!), and how the evil witch's demise was her own undoing in the fiery oven (Hansel and Gretel); how much joy and hope I found in hearing each of these 'happy-ever-after' endings. As a child, I never tired of the 'fairy tale formula' in these stories. Instead, they seemed to teach and reinforce something True already written on my soul from the beginning.

"The natural law is written and engraved in the soul of each and every man, because it is human reason ordaining him to do good and forbidding him to sin." ~ CCC (part 3) 1954:5

Some may scoff at the notion of these types of endings...and yet, isn't that what we all long for in our heart of hearts? A "Happily Ever After" type ending?! We all long for true love, for perfect justice, and complete happiness. We all desire good to win over evil. We all should want to be the best version of ourselves as we can be, shouldn't we? After all, that is  our purpose! So, it should not surprise or alarm us when our children are naturally drawn to fairy tales. They are the 'stuff' that our world is truly made of, when you look with child-like eyes! And if I'm still unconvincing, how about this noteworthy quote from someone much more intelligent and wiser than me:

"If you want your children to be intelligent, read them fairy tales. If you want them to be more intelligent, read them more fairy tales."  ~Albert Einstein 


Though not perfect, I would like to think that out of this reverence for the power of language, I have been one to 'choose my words carefully'. I have seen how words can tear people down, and how words can bring someone from despair to hope and joy. I have personally recognized in my own life the way that words can inspire, bring hope, send my soul soaring beyond explanation- as well as the way words can crush and destroy. I have seen in my own children's faces the way words spoken to them can cause them to instantly become excited and inspired, as well as the way they can immediately, to my own heartache, break and crush their little spirit. Some Words from Scripture to back up the incredible power found in words:

~Death and life are in the power of the tongue: they that love it, shall eat the fruits thereof.  ~ Prov 18:21
~And the tongue is a fire, a world of iniquity. The tongue is placed among our members, which defileth the whole body, and inflameth the wheel of our nativity, being set on fire by hell.  ~James 3:6
~The tongue of the just is as choice silver: but the heart of the wicked is nothing worth.  ~Prov 10:20
~Let no evil speech proceed from your mouth; but that which is good, to the edification of faith, that it may administer grace to the hearers.  ~Eph 4:29
~Let your speech be always in grace seasoned with salt: that you may know how you ought to answer every man.  ~Col 4:6
~The words of the mouth of a wise man are grace: but the lips of a fool shall throw him down headlong.  ~Eccl 10:12


We never know what sorts of words will connect with another person. Sometimes I am surprised by words in a homily at Mass, or words that resonate deep within me from a movie I watch or from a novel I am reading; less surprising, though no less important, are words I can count on being inspired by in stories of the Saints. Our Lord Himself is the Word. So, the idea that words are more than simply letters on a page is not so far-fetched.

My our mouths speak Truth and only serve to bless, praise, uplift, encourage, and admonish one another. And may our minds be filled to overflowing with the goodness and virtues packed into fairy tales and stories! Amen.