A Few Choice Words

The Life Raft That Gets You Home

The other night, I was watching 9-1-1—one of those episodes that sneaks up on you emotionally. I had planned to just unwind, zone out for a bit, but then came that moment. The one that stopped me mid-sip of tea and sat heavy on my chest.

It was after the tsunami, the trauma, after the heartbreak. Buck was still visibly shaken—lost, really. You could see it in the way he sat in silence, the way his eyes held too much, like he was carrying something none of us could see.

Then Eddie showed up with Christopher.

He didn’t come with answers. He didn’t come with a lecture. He simply brought his son, a piece of light in a very dark moment. And he looked Buck in the eye and offered a few choice words—encouraging, real, grounded in love. Words that didn’t fix everything, but reminded Buck that he mattered. That he wasn’t alone. That even if the world around him had fallen apart, there was still something solid in front of him. Someone who still believed in him.  

And in the voiceover, Buck said something I’ll never forget:  

"A few choice words can sometimes be the life raft that gets you home."

It got me. Because he was right.  

We often overlook how much our words can mean to someone else. We throw them around carelessly or hold them back out of fear, pride, or distraction. But what if the right words, spoken at the right time, are exactly what someone needs to find their way back to themselves?

Watching Buck sit there, bruised and broken, and then witnessing how those few words from Eddie helped anchor him—that hit home.  

It made me think about the times in my life when I was the one trying to stay afloat. When the world felt heavy and nothing made sense. When I felt like I was drifting and didn’t even know how to ask for help.  

And then someone—a friend, a stranger, a family member—would say something so simple, yet so powerful:  

_"You matter to me."_  

_"I’m proud of you."_  

_"You don’t have to go through this alone."_  

They didn’t even know they were saving me. They didn’t know their words were a life raft in that moment. But they were.

They helped me stay afloat. They gave me breath when everything felt suffocating. They helped me remember who I was when I had forgotten.  

And that’s what I saw in that scene with Buck, Eddie, and Christopher. That’s what made me cry—not just because it was beautiful storytelling, but because it was *true*. Because sometimes, when we’re lost, we don’t need someone to fix us. We don’t need a grand rescue. We just need someone to remind us that we’re not forgotten. That we still matter. That we’re still loved.  

We need those few choice words.  

So, if someone crosses your mind today—reach out. Send the message. Make the call. Write the note. Say the words. Don’t worry about being perfect. Don’t wait for the right moment. Your words could be the very thing that brings someone back to shore.  

They could be the life raft.  

They could be the reason someone makes it home.