Foster age 3 1/2

“La la la…I can’t hear you.”

I often wish that I could do this.  I have hurt and been hurt by words all my life.

For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and creature of the sea, is tamed and has been tamed by mankind.  But no man can tame the tongue. It is an unruly evil, full of deadly poison.
                                                                                                                      James 3:7-8

A little over a year and a half ago I had a very close friend say some things to me that I would have NEVER imagined.  I would have bet money that she would have never thought those things about me, let alone put them in an email and hit send.  But that’s what happens. I have had a lot of time to grieve, process, heal from that situation. God has used that time to show me how I too have been guilty of damaging relationships with words.

I had a best friend in college who dated this guy. They were on again, off again, with him usually being the cheater and hurting my friend.  Well, she and I were roommates and when he called and left messages on our answering machine I would delete them. And no, I did not tell her that he called.
I hated what he was doing to her so I tried to control the situation.  What I was doing though was deceiving my best friend and disrespecting her right to make her own decisions.  She found out, of course, and was angry and hurt.  What hurt most of all was that she could see me for what I really was – a liar.

Scripture says we can’t “tame” our tongue.  I have found that in my own walk with Christ I have struggled heavily in this area.  Whether it’s deceit or keeping quiet, I have relied on God to change me and mold me. I am so thankful that He doesn’t just see me as a liar, but as His child who needs loving correction.