I have been going through the book of Proverbs, and writing down verses that I feel particularly pertain to me. There are some nice ones about learning the word of God, and there are some really inspiring ones about taking good care of my household, but, embarassingly enough, the ones I write down the most are always the ones about keeping my mouth shut.
I have the WORST problem with talking and gabbing-it's just terrible. I can never keep anything short and to the point. In my defense, I grew up in a family of pushy old gabby ladies from back East. Get them all in a room together and it's really hard to get a word in edgewise! (Especially if you don't have a high pitched voice of authority with a thick back east accent.) In order to get into the conversations, you basically just had to butt right in and take over-which I learned how to do. I remember once, my mom said something about "Don't interrupt your great aunts, Cari!" To which [great] Aunt Caroline replied "Well Geez, Sha, how else is she gonna get ta talk around heah?" (Translation: For goodness sake, Cheryl, how else will she be able to talk? We never leave an opening for anyone!)
Yeah, my whole family has the gift 'o' gab, and in my family dynamic it is ok, and considered sociable. Unfortunately, interrupting and talking constantly is a hard thing to turn off, and it is not really nice in polite society. As I am growing in my faith I am realizing that there is a kinder, gentler way for me to be, and I want to work on that. As a result of this, I have been writing down these proverbs, to meditate on when I feel like I need to be more prudent in my speech. (Read: constantly.) It is not happening overnight, but as I "hide His word in my heart", I know it will bring me growth.
This year, I plan on occasionally taking a verse from Proverbs that calls to me and meditating on it in my journal. This will be kind of personal, but I think it will really bring me some growth. Not all of the verses will be about keeping quiet, but I have a feeling quite a few of them will be. :)
