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Then I prayed. And begged my prayer warrior friends to join me.
I tried again. I did better. I must say it helped a lot that the person at the other end of the frustration was kind, compassionate and really, as frustrated as I was with the whole situation. She extended far more grace than I deserved. I am grateful.
Holding my tongue continued to get easier -- that whole persistent prayer thing really works!
Yesterday, my heart followed my tongue. The quieter my tongue got, the softer my heart became. By midday, I prayed for her -- the person stuck in the middle of the storm -- and asked God to give her wisdom and make the path clear. I thanked God for her kindness. I thanked Him for softening my heart in the whole situation. God is so good. He really will give us peace, if we genuinely ask. No matter what the battle is!
At church last night, the pastor shared a couple verses that further sharpened my focus:
- Don't you realize that in a race everyone runs, but only one person gets the prize? So run to win! (1 Cor. 9:24)
- Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. (Hebrews 12:1)
Perhaps we went through this ordeal for me to understand. This whole life is a race -- run to glorify God. He wants to help me win. Holding my tongue is something God can help me do. With God's love in me, I can do it! And when it gets hard, there are people to cheer me on -- other believers who want me to succeed (my prayer warrior friends) and the heroes of the Bible (that great cloud of witnesses). It's not just my battle. The Christian community is one -- we run this race together. I don't hold my tongue for me. I hold my tongue for God -- it's a testimony to the great power of his love. Honestly, it's a HUGE testimony of the power of his love, because I can't do it alone!
Today, I am grateful to God for standing with me. I am thankful to God for the friends who stand by me. More, though, I am thankful to God for second chances to learn valuable lessons and thankful that He cheers me on.
Blessings,
4 comments:
I knew you could do it!
With a little help from above! :)
Thanks!
Amen, Karen!! :-).
Loved reading about your challenge. For me, the greater challenge is controlling my thoughts. I have a pretty good filter on my tongue, but my thoughts are a sinful mess.
Thanks, Rosann. My tongue is definitely my weakness. When I rein it in, my thoughts tend to behave. I used to do the "what if" thing and play out scenarios -- all night long -- in my head. Then, my husband prayed for me to have quiet thoughts every night before bed. Voila! God quieted my head!!! :)
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