Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2003 - 10:39 a.m.

Serpent's Teeth

Do you know what is sharper than serpents' teeth? Then you know what a few of my current moments are like. 'Love bears all things'...... buries in silence. That is very good advice in those kind of moments. The last time I saw 1s conscious was May 1988. In one of our conversations,he was talking of an troubling family subject, and in answer to one of his comments, a cutting rejoinder came to mind. Rather than voicing it, I remained silent. I can still remember thinking, 'I don't have to say that.' I have always been so thankful for that silence. Nothing to feel guilty about in that area when he took his last breath on the Fourth of July 3 months later. When someone you love dies, there is plenty of guilt to gather up. All the should haves, could haves, would haves are lying thickly all about you, and you pick up as many as you can carry. Those bitter words I might have said are not in any of those guilt bundles.

I wish I could say that I have never uttered any more bitter words since, that I had learned my lesson, but I can't. What I can say is that there are not as many bundles as there could be. Thoughtless words live forever. Long after we have forgotten that we said them, they are dredged up for examination by the hearer, often in quite different form that when uttered at first. Those words are not remembered as said, or even in the spirit offered, but in the spirit received whish is often vastly different. You are the only One Who can remove the stings.

EE's devotional

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