Conversation

Words often say more than we intend.  Words, spoken with our mouths, expressed through our body language, documented with our hands, captured with the machines of the day, and in the silence between the lines, talk to the expressions of our souls.  They may never be the complete story, but they are part of the story.  Even as we manipulate and shape their form, they carry truth and hints of a greater truth with them.  Even as an author, we are never fully aware of what we are saying or what others can see, hear, and feel.
 
I was recently asked about my words.  It was a simple meeting at Starbucks.  What I remember is being there, feeling good, and experiencing peace in and with the conversation.  As is often the nature between those that trust each other, I do not remember everything I said.  I wish I did.  I have tried to recall.  I know my mind has the details somewhere, yet I cannot seem to find where and how I filed them.  The good news is that I am aware of the gap.
 
The bad news for many of us, myself frequently included, is how I express myself without realizing what I am saying.  The process of expressing the unknown occurs in stories, actions, questions, and simple casual conversations!  I find myself surprised when someone replays our conversation.  An old man questioned another but it could just as easily be me.  I was not aware.  He reminded me of me words.  “When you said, ‘It doesn't pay to serve God.  What do we ever get out of it?  When we did what he said and went around with long faces, serious about God-of-the-Angel-Armies, what difference did it make?  Those who take life into their own hands are the lucky ones.  They break all the rules and get ahead anyway.  They push God to the limit and get by with it.’”  (Malachi 3.14, 15)
 
Words can hurt, heal, and even nurture.  With God, in this moment we have a chance to say more.