The Listening Heart ~ "Un-say it!"

Have you ever found yourself wishing you could “unsay” something? Those times when words just carelessly and recklessly fly out of your mouth and you don’t seem to be able to stop them. Meanwhile you are trying to pull them back knowing that they will do damage that will be difficult to repair. Maybe it was in a moment of anger, or when your feelings got hurt.

For me in the past, I just wanted to be right - even at the cost of someone else! My mom used to say that when I was younger that I was never at a loss for words and I could shred someone with my tongue and not even realize it. I am not proud of that time, but I am thankful that my mom was honest with me so that I could work at being aware of how my words affect others. Words and the way that I spoke them made them weapons. The idea of being able to quietly destroy someone with my words and my tone of voice, all while smiling, now breaks my heart.

As I grew in my faith, I determined in my heart to learn what God’s word had to say about this topic. I remember being surprised at how many different Scriptures there were that spoke specifically about the power of our words and the heart by which we speak them. I was challenged to get control of this so I began to write these Scriptures on paper and taped them to the inside of my kitchen cupboards! I wrote them on mirrors with dry erase markers! I put them in places that I would see them many times throughout the day! I did this to remind myself that I didn’t want to hurt others with my words.

I don’t have complete control yet, as I am a work in progress, but my family will tell you that I have come a long way! I still pay close attention to these verses and put them into practice! One of my favorite verses that I still pray today is in Psalms 19:14:

“Let the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be acceptable in Your sight, O Lord my Rock and my Redeemer.”

I desire that my words, speech, and tone of voice would be reflective of the depth of my love for God, and that my thoughts would reflect His heart for those that I have the honor to speak with. I continue to pray that I would not misrepresent God in any way, but speak words that will encourage and edify others to a relationship with Him.

While I am a long way from perfection...I don’t have to wish that I could “unsay” things as much as I used to, and I am thankful for God’s word that is transforming me!