I blew it.

I was recently setting up an online meeting for work from my cell phone. I didn’t pick a good time to do so. I was lying on the couch in my living room with family members nearby and the television was on. While I was trying to concentrate on making sure the settings were correct, my husband started peppering me with questions about my plans for the next day.

There was too much going on.

I became cranky and irritable. My tones were harsh and curt.

Then I noticed something.

I saw my picture on a minimized screen in the bottom corner of the phone. Oh, no! My phone was taping me! What if the person I was setting the meeting up with had received a notification and was already listening? The accidental meeting occurred late on a Saturday night for 5:16 minutes. From everything I can tell, it was not recorded and no one else joined.

But that’s not the point.

Had anyone joined in, they would have overheard a woman who was not allowing the Holy Spirit to empower her with patience and kindness. It’s disconcerting to think that had I known my phone was “listening,” I would have spoken with patient tones and used my workplace persona. Since I thought that only my husband was listening, it was okay to be disagreeable.

Awful. Just awful.

But the words you speak come from the heart—that’s what defiles you. (Matthew 15:18)

I tell my kids that “who we are at home is who we are.” The truth about my heart in those five minutes of time was reflected in how I was treating my husband.

I had a close call. Someone could have been listening, and I could have accidentally recorded those minutes. God’s kindness let me suffer the gravity and truth of my mouth with minimal consequences. It didn’t have to go that way.

Thankfully, when we mess up, God is a confession away and offers instant and full forgiveness. Thankfully, my husband also forgave me. Whew!

Someone is ALWAYS watching us. His name is God.

Picture Explanation: Summer fun. Family visits. For anyone who does not play Sequence, give it a try. It’s been our #1 family game for a long time.

Speaking of living with the Spirit empowering your heart: If you are interested in being contacted to participate in a One Gritty Blink Bible study, click on the Oaks Ministries link below and send me an email so I can place you on a list to be contacted as online and face-to-face studies are planned. Let’s not just focus on things in this short life, but also what counts for eternity!

Note: No part of my posts are derived from A.I. Thoughts and writing stem from my mind and heart as I process life week-by-week and continue to grow in my understanding of God and how to apply His wisdom to the world around me.   

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