A "sister in Christ" from my former church (the one where Dave & I first met and where we were involved in various ministries in the inner city for 15 of our 20 married yrs) has given me permission to direct you to her blog titled "Heart Beats". She also has blogs for people interested in food/recipes/arts and crafts....you can find them on her side bar.
Anyways......I want to give a "shout out" to her post entitled "Don't Cry Over Spilled Coffee". It is EXCELLENT. Here is the link. The part that really ministered to me is almost to the end of the post....read the entire thing because it is really worth it. I especially like what she has to say about our words......and what can happen with our words....how they can hurt someone, etc. and you might not even be aware!
Oh how I can relate to that!
I have been struggling to really put some stuff in the past....to just let it go....but sometimes it is so difficult when we have been lied to, or the person doesn't realize they are lying and keeps telling you one thing yet you know the truth.....how that hurts me! Yet....we are called to forgive, aren't we?
Yet....how long do we let it continue on? Should we ignore it? Try to correct them? I responded to this person yet.....don't get an answer! Frustrating!
or you say something that you don't realize is hurtful or painful because you aren't aware of what is really in the person's past, or the heart, or what she/he is struggling with.....
Proverbs 18:21a " The tongue has the power of life and death..."
Love is a risk, isn't it? (I am not talking about romantic love)....I am talking about the general love we invest in with friendships, people the Lord brings our way, people you thought you could count on, people you thought were spiritually "with it" only to be disappointed when that turns out to not be the case, people who said they'd always be there....and aren't, etc. etc.
I know from reading some of your posts, that many of you struggle with this too.
~sigh~ Let's keep pressing on....let's keep watching our own tongues, our own language, our own minds and hearts.
Let's keep pressing on to shine the Light of Jesus.
And...sometimes, when you least expect it, someone will leave a message for you (this happened to me recently on FB & was actually very timely!) and the words that were typed were short, simple, yet filled me with a hope I haven't had in awhile.....hope that maybe things will be ok.....hard to explain here.....but....
it was the wording that ministered yet it was the person who did the typing that gave me the hope....sometimes hope disappoints..oh how I know that! I have lived with disappointed hope for several months now...yet...this brought it back......it's a risk for me.....yet....how can I not hope? When you know in your very soul that something is "of God", eventually all is made right. The cool thing is that the person who left the message is the person who kinda hurt me...so...I have become guarded with my own words and find my self keeping my heart "guarded" when I hear from this person. And yet....there is that hope! and this time.....those carefully chosen words that actually brought some encouragment to me even tho my heart is guarded now. I love how God does that!!
Let's keep pressing on....let's keep shining that Light....let's keep loving....let's watch our tongues.....let's keep hoping.....
2 comments:
The Christian's use of the tongue is a major concern of the Scriptures and is a matter that the Bible deals with extensively. Our words are a reflection of our character and as such should be a manifestation of godliness in our lives as followers of Christ.
God bless you and keep up the good work for JESUS.
Ron
BTW, Thanks for your recent comment on my blog. The next time you visit you are more than welcome to become a follower, if you want to.
Thanks, Ron!
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