You Don’t Hear Yourself

“Can you please get Elias’s shoes on and teeth brushed,” I snapped at my husband, Matthew.

It had been one of those mornings where everything was taking longer than it should and we were late.

Matthew turned out of the kitchen, shaking his head.

“What? Babe, I didn’t mean to snap. We are just late. I have a meeting. We need to go.”

“You just don’t hear yourself, Baby. I know you don’t mean it, but it really hurts my feelings when you talk to me in that tone of voice.”

{gulp}

“I’m sorry, hon. I’m sorry. I’ll try to be better.”

My tone has always been something I have had to work on.

As a young girl, my mom would tell me not to be bossy to my little sister. I was the older one and needed to set a good example.

As a high school student, my teacher kindly told me to not talk so sharply.

As a young professional, my boss gently and graciously reminded me to always remember how I speak to others.

Words are powerful, aren’t they?

The bible talks about them a lot. The very representation of God in our lives is often manifested in our words.

And so I pray, asking God to make me softer, kinder, gentler and that my words would be like “honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones (Proverbs 16:24).

This month I have been meditating on Psalm 19:4:

May the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O LORD, my Rock and my Redeemer.

I pray that this verse resonates with you too, especially in this month of Thanksgiving.

Peace be with you today.

Questions to discuss:

Do you ever struggle with your tone and words?

What do you do to help remind yourself to reflect God’s love through your words?

By Jessica Turner from The Mom Creative