Dirty Words

It's been a while since I last posted. I suppose I backslid a bit, letting a million other things (gala, wedding, honeymoon, triathlon training, grocery shopping, tooth flossing, etc.) take priority over my relationship with God.

Now, as I attempt to find my way back, while praying that God doesn't spit my lukewarm faith out of his mouth like bathwater, I have another story to share.

This week I left work for a few minutes around the lunch hour to get some coffee at the neighborhood coffee shop. As I was standing on the street corner, waiting to cross, I witnessed a somewhat typical scene: the first car at the stoplight was not paying attention to the light. When the light turned green, the car didn't move for a couple moments. Without wasting a shred of a second, the guy in the pickup behind him leaned out the window and yelled, "Move it, A$&%@#E!"

For some reason, I was pretty taken aback. I'm used to witnessing road rage, but this man's totally unnecessary outburst offended me and made me feel bad for the driver in front of him.

I then wondered if that's how God feels being subject to our thoughts. Never in my life have I yelled what that guy yelled, but I'm sure I've thought such sweet sentiments before. Particularly when I'm in the grocery store and someone leaves their cart in the middle of the aisle while they are standing right next to it examining the cans of green beans. I approach the cart and kind of wait a moment ... [insert nasty thought here] ... the person doesn't move ... and then I might kindly ask, "could you move your cart please? Thank you." But that's not what God heard! Oh, no it most certainly wasn't.

Poor God. God designed us with the ability to hide what we are really thinking but God has (or chooses) to listen to all of it. I suppose the way we are created might help us keep the peace with others but there is nothing we hide from the Lord.

For God's sake, literally, I am cleaning up my thoughts a bit.

Ephesians 4:29: "Don't use foul or abusive language. Let everything you say be good and helpful, so that your words will be an encouragement to those who hear them."