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This blog is a rerun from last year. I remember it so well and wanted to share it again as it still applies

“I will just bite my tongue!”


That’s what I tell myself to do when I want to respond to someones ridiculous statement or claim. I choose to do this to avoid saying something that might be hurtful or embarrassing. 
Below is an example:



This past Ash Wednesday after Mass, I dropped my car off at the Chevy dealer for some repair work. The gentleman that was writing down the unusual noise my car was making was cheerful and very kind. While speaking to him, I immediately noticed his left ear.  The rays of the sun were partially shining on his earlobe and I noticed a hole in it the size of an m & m. Plain. Not peanut. I seriously could see through the hole in his earlobe almost to the other side of the parking lot. 
I instantly started thinking all kinds of thoughts as to why he didn’t have the gauge in his ear that created the opening.


In case you don’t know, Gauging is a form of slowly stretching the earlobe to create a hole so one can wear bigger jewelry.
 
Questions ran through my mind.
???????????????????????????????





Did he forget the gauge?




Did he realize that having a big hole in his ear was now something he didn’t want after all?




Or did he accomplish his goal with the gauge that created the hole so he could sport the little see through porthole to the world just as it is?




Of course I bit and held my tongue and did not mention anything.
While I was answering his questions about my car, I noticed he was a little nervous while writing. He darted his eyes away from me each time we made eye contact.

Actually it was more like “forehead contact” for him.

Just as I finished signing the work order, he couldn’t stand it anymore and politely pointed to my forehead. “You, You have something black on your forehead,” he said. “Oh yes, I know”, I immediately responded. It’s Ash Wednesday. They are ashes on my forehead. Embarrassed, he apologized and said that he felt like he just put his foot in his mouth. I reassured him not to worry and be prepared for more customers that might have ashes on their forehead.


I used to be embarrassed to have ashes on my head when I was younger, but now they are proudly worn as a sign of the beginning of a journey. A journey that will last 40 days and like Jesus, I am called and reminded to depend on God for my strength. Through fasting, prayer and alms giving. These practices trigger thoughts of what my priorities should be. Being unselfish, forgiving, humble and open to the Holy Spirit. A time to come closer the Lord.


As for my biting my tongue, I will continue to do this to remind myself that sometimes it’s the best choice.
 
Below is a biblical account from James on the Power of the Tongue.

 

James, Chapter 3

Power of the Tongue *Not many of you should become teachers, my brothers, for you realize that we will be judged more strictly,for we all fall short in many respects. If anyone does not fall short in speech, he is a perfect man, able to bridle his whole body also. If we put bits into the mouths of horses to make them obey us, we also guide their whole bodies. It is the same with ships: even though they are so large and driven by fierce winds, they are steered by a very small rudder wherever the pilot’s inclination wishes. In the same way the tongue is a small member and yet has great pretensions.

Consider how small a fire can set a huge forest ablaze. The tongue is also a fire. It exists among our members as a world of malice, defiling the whole body and setting the entire course of our lives on fire, itself set on fire by Gehenna. For every kind of beast and bird, of reptile and sea creature, can be tamed and has been tamed by the human species, but no human being can tame the tongue. It is a restless evil, full of deadly poison. With it we bless the Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings who are made in the likeness of God. From the same mouth come blessing and cursing. This need not be so, my brothers. Does a spring gush forth from the same opening both pure and brackish water? Can a fig tree, my brothers, produce olives, or a grapevine figs? Neither can salt water yield fresh.

 

Below is my narration of Chapter 20 of my book, Meet Me In The Mountains.

The full downloadable version is currently being formatted with audible.com

Chapter 20

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