Just a whisper

Whispers, secrets, cupping your hand to someones ear followed by giggles. We all know this scenario. No doubt we have either been the one doing the whispering, receiving the whisper or watching the interaction from a far. I need you to think back to when you were the one watching the interaction from a far. How did it make you feel? Left out? Self-conscious?
Lonely? Embarrassed? Maybe all these, right? My oldest child is 10 and I have had to talk with her about this very topic. She came to me feeling kinda bad and wanted to know what to do about it. She didn't really ask me what to do but my mommy sensor went off when she started telling me what had happened that day at school. This was my moment to really chat with her. She said that two girls at school were looking at her and one whispered to the other one. They continued to look at her and then went on their way. I asked her "how did that make you feel?" She said "Bad. I think they were making fun of me." It was at this point the momma lion in me wanted to call a few moms and let them know just how mean their daughters were. Of course I didn't do that but I certainly wanted to. This was a teachable moment for sure. I ended up telling her a few things that I hope she will use in the future. The first thing was: she did not know for sure if they were whispering about her. (important for kids to realize it is NOT all about them!) The second thing was: it is important for her to remember how she felt at that moment and remember it when she gets the urge to do the whispering. The third thing and most important by far: we talked about what God had to say about whispering.

Now you may be thinking....God has something to say about whispering? Really? That was my thoughts too but since coming to know our Lord, I realized He has something to say about EVERYTHING that can come up in my life. The subject of whispering and what it does is important to God. He tells us the exact same thing TWICE in Proverbs. Proverbs 18:8 says... The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; • they go down into the inner parts of the body. A few chapters later, He gives us Proverbs 26:22 The words of a whisperer are like delicious morsels; • they go down into the inner parts of the body. Now, did God forget that He already said that? NO. It is important, therefore repeated. (think of things that you repeat as a mom...the important things, right?) Now, let's take these verses apart. If you are receiving or doing the whispering...how fun is it? If you are being honest, it is very fun. Delicious morsel is a perfect comparison if you ask me. When we whisper, we need to be honest as to what it's all about. We are saying something that can not/ should not be said out loud for fear of being rude, or mean. Maybe we are whispering something that we should not know. Any way you slice it, 99 times out of 100, whispering is not good. The above Proverbs also say... "they go down into the inner parts of the body." To me, this means that more is done to us than we realize when we whisper. Our souls are affected. The person who sees the whispering has an affect on his/her soul. We can all recall a moment when it felt like someone was whispering about us and how many years have gone by....we still feel that hurt. Know what I mean? How about this verse also from Proverbs, "A dishonest man spreads strife, and a whisperer separates close friends." Oh boy....is that true or what!!?? In both the books of Matthew and Luke, this is said: "Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. " Now, this scripture has multiple meanings. When I read it, one thing I hear is how we need to understand that all our whispers are not limited to the people we whispered to. Our Lord hears them...He knows what we have said. Having said that, the verse in scripture that says..."we will be held accountable for every careless word" has a bite to it. Ouch!! In closing, I guess it is important for all mom's to understand the consequences of whispering. It is important to me to pass on Godly information to my children. I want them to grow up to know what God says about things. I want them to understand that God gives us his thoughts on ALL things. As my babies grow up, the opportunities to teach them God's ways never grow dim. I need to make sure I know what He has to say so I can pass it on to my kids. When I do this, I become a better person and I can better guild them to do the same. (PS....I think it can not be stated enough....I only mentioned God or Jesus once when talking to my daughter about this topic of whispering. I have found that beating my kids over the head with God....kinda turns them off! One of the greatest quotes..."Show them Jesus and use words if you have to" St. Francis of Assisi. )