Week 2, Day 1: The Tongue of Angels

Yesterday, my best friend Sarah was telling me about her desire to do something this year for Christ and make a sacrifice for Him since He has made the perfect one for us. She told me of her plans to limit her music to Church and Christmas music, and I really loved the idea. I thought about doing the same (and I still may), but I had the desire to do something that would be something of a greater personal sacrifice to me, something that really hinders me from coming unto Christ.

WARNING: I am going to be really honest.

Then this morning, after griping about a dirty apartment, complaining about our parking space, blaming myself for not having enough money to update my wardrobe, getting angry at other drivers one the road and... eek, calling them names... I realize that the words that I say are negative-- to others, especially those closest to me (sorry, roomies!) and to myself.

This year, I want to give Christ my words, my mouth, my tongue. It sounds weird, doesn't it? It makes perfect sense to me. 

Did you hear President Monson's talk, Charity Never Faileth, in this past Relief Society General Meeting? It hit me very hard. By the title alone, one might think it was another talk about serving your fellow men. This talk went a lot deeper than this, though. He talked about having charity of heart, not just of action. He talked about the danger of an unkind word, and the risk of judging others. He quoted one of my very favorite quotes by Mother Teresa:

“If you judge people, you have no time to love them.”

Today as I was preparing my mind and heart to do this, I also listened to Elder Holland's talk where he says:

"How is it that such a lovely voice which by divine nature is so angelic, so close to the veil, so instinctively gentle and inherently kind could ever in a turn be so shrill, so biting, so acrid and untamed? A woman’s words can be more piercing than any dagger ever forged, and they can drive the people they love to retreat beyond a barrier more distant than anyone in the beginning of that exchange could ever have imagined. Sisters, there is no place in that magnificent spirit of yours for acerbic or abrasive expression of any kind, including gossip or backbiting or catty remarks"

Ouch. And woah. How often to I forget and do this very thing? WAY more than I would like to admit on this blog.

I realize so much that if I can learn to master my tongue and speak as with the "tongue of angels", my life will draw even closer to Christ. Not only will it be a fix of my mouth, but also of my thoughts, my focus and my devotion. I need to place it all upon Him. And what better time of year to do that than the lovely and hopeful holiday season, right? I can't wait to more fully walk with Him.