It's hard to explain how much words mean to me, but I have learned how to embrace the weight they carry. So, for anyone reading this, take note for the people in your life who find words of affirmation high on their Love Languages list.

Words for people with this love language find that phrases, stories, and single words have a significant amount of value. Make your interactions with them intentional. When replying to a text message, "okay" and "okay, sounds good" have polar opposite meanings. "Okay" can sound cold and disinterested. Sometimes, the extra two words in "okay, sounds good" communicate a much more meaningful response than they can describe.

I give this advice for everyone, but please, think before you speak because harsh, rash, and cutting phrases have the ability to tear down these individuals for the rest of their lives. Some painful phrases uttered to me shaped the way I thought of myself for years and took so much encouragement to change my perspective. There is still sting to those words, even after all has been forgiven. The words that were spoken to inspire me, however, are repeated over and over in my mind, copied in journals, or hung on my wall as a reminder. They continually speak life.

If you teach one of these people, remember encouragement only spurs them on. Correction is good for all to improve, but after too much criticism or being proven wrong, failure seems like the only option for them. Recognize how easily you can prevent them from shutting down by simply pairing correction with a positive word.

When you do have conversations with individuals who cherish words dearly, remember this, we mean what we say. If I look you in the eye and say I care about you, I don't take it lightly. When I say call me at three in the morning if you need anything, I don't mean it as a joke. When I say thank you, I am being intentional about loving you. When I text you out of the blue just wondering how you are doing, it's because communication is how I love, it's how many people in the world love. When I apologize over and over, it means that I want to do everything I can to make it right again.

As Patrick Rothfuss once said: “Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts.”