Keeping your mouth shut…

Anyone who knows me, knows this is a struggle for me. It is an area in my life that I constantly have to work on. We all have at least one of these types of struggles… There are times when I think I’m doing better and learning and using my words for good, then I fall flat on my face and realize I still need to be humble in this area and need God’s help..

Yesterday I gave my sister a pretty big piece of my mind. She didn’t exactly ask for it, but when she called it was on! Of course in my mind, I was expressing helpful, honest thoughts that she obviously hadn’t thought about before. The problem is it wasn’t the right time nor was I in the right frame of mind to consider whether or not she was asking for my thoughts so it wasn’t pretty.

I’m a teacher, counselor, mother, etc. and people often ask my opinion. I’ve learned but am still learning that we must have boundaries even in the areas of giftedness in our lives. I also need to be sensitive as to what role I need to play in a situation and to learn whether or not an opinion is warranted.

Maybe your struggle isn’t your mouth. Whatever it is, I love how Priscilla Shirer encourages us, “When we live within the boundaries that God’s spirit impresses upon us, the things we do have will be accompanied by a divine nod of approval that will multiply their usefulness and our enjoyment of them.”

You see over the years, my sister has at times asked my opinion and I think often values it, which if you knew us is saying a lot, but yesterday I didn’t live within God’s boundaries and I didn’t wait for his divine nod of approval for me to share thoughts/concerns with her; therefore, it resulted in a fight.

The good news is, we can fight and get over it fast which we are less than 24 hours later. We are all a work in progress. This week, think about your strengths and think about proper boundaries you should should place around those so that you’ll use them in just the right times and places.

Thankful for forgiveness,

Natalie 🙂