Afiado (af-i-ado)

This week's new Portuguese word, though actually, I had learnt it before, but this week it takes on a fresh significance. Afiado. Means "sharpened" or "keen". Or in my case, it means a cut finger. I have to blame Colin. I mean, he's the one who, according to Anna, kept saying there's not a sharp knife the house, when he was cooking in our kitchen.

So, Anna decides we need a few new knives about the house. And she has gone and acquired this thing called, appropriately enough, a "kitchen devil". It would slice your finger off as soon as look at you! So there I was engaged innocently enough in peeling an apple, not quite realising the thing I held in my hand. And suddenly, blood everywhere. The kitchen counter, the cupboard, the floor, the sink. Of course, Anna blames me for not doing the sensible thing and putting a plaster on it rather than dancing around waving my finger in the air. But that's a man thing, I suppose, to make a song and dance about even the slightest injury. After all, we've never had to go through childbirth, so we can't be expected to have the same perspective on pain thresholds.

Anyway, so the edge of this devil is keen and sharp. I read later the instructions attached to this new addition to the family. Do not chop on glass or marble surfaces otherwise the knife will quickly lose its edge. And I'm thinking. How easy it is for us to "lose our edge", when we're dealing with hard hearts, dull minds or abrasive personalities. The Book or Proverbs talks about "sharpening one another" - "As iron sharpens iron, so a friend sharpens a friend" (Prov 27:17) and I supposing that's what is meant by mentoring. When we spend time with a friend or colleague, intentionally seeking to encourage, challenge, spur on to good works, and to a closer walk with God, it has an amazing impact not just on him or her, but on ourselves. We get sharpened ourselves as we seek to sharpen others. The reverse is also true. If we're unresponsive, tough and opinionated, arrogant or self sufficient, not only do we take the edge off the person seeking to reach out to us, but we become blunt ourselves in the process.

I thank God for the good relationships we have with people around us and that we are able to "sharpen" one another when necessary, which is quite a lot of the time, by the way. May He continue to keep us sharp and usable in His service.