So, do you recognize the power of your encouragement? I came across a really inspiring story by a guy named Chris Norton, who talked about the life-changing power of words told to him after he was injured. Chris was an 18-year old student playing college football, made a routine tackle, and was paralyzed from the neck down. They told him that he only had a 3% chance of ever moving his extremities again. And, he went into a deep depression, as you can imagine.

When he was in the hospital, Chris talks about lying there night after night unable to move. And, then on the fourth night of his stay, he said, "It's two o'clock in the morning, the nurses come and go, they're very clinical, they're checking your vital signs." And he said, "This doctor walked in who I'd never seen before. And she knelt down beside me and she said, 'Chris, my name is,'" so and so. And she said, "I'm from Wyoming. Do you know anybody from Wyoming?" And he said, "No." And she said, "I say that because people from Wyoming do not lie." Are you hearing me, Chris? And then she said, "Chris I have something to tell you. You will beat this." And he said, "She said it with such conviction and such power."

After that night, Chris immediately felt an overriding sense of hope and a recognition that he was going to beat this. It's one thing to have the encouragement, it's another thing to do what's necessary to be done once you're encouraged. And he did everything he needed to do to get the best outcome that he could. Chris started right away doing the physical therapy. He asked them for extra therapy and within several weeks he began moving his toe which was a huge milestone. They thought there was only a small percentage that that would ever happen. And it goes on that he eventually was able to stand up. He was able to walk. He was able to walk down the aisle when he got married within the next year.

Chris went on to become a motivational speaker. He's a father of seven children. Really an emotional, powerful story. And it's a reminder, I think, to each of us of the power of our words. If you have children, grandchildren, friends, neighbors, you have to be consciously aware, exactly what we're communicating to people, and the powerful impact our words have on someone because our words can destroy someone's life. Think of a child who is told, you are no good, you can't do it, you're not smart enough, you're not this, you're not that, those words cut a child to the quick and will remain with that child likely throughout all their life. And they'll probably be able to remember those words when they're 70 years old and relate to that story. They have such an impression on them.

On the flip side of that, our words of encouragement, our words of belief and conviction: You are terrific, you are going to do great things with your life, you have special gifts that are gonna change the world. Those words build up. They strengthen, they encourage, they motivate, they change the course of a child's life. So before we speak to others, remember the power of what we say. The power to strengthen and the power to tear down. And remember the words that Chris heard from someone he did not know and how those words changed his life. He said those four words changed his life. Chris, you will beat this with emphasis and conviction.