A prayer for silence

Life is a series of lessons, and I try to learn from each one.  I lived through a very stressful and awful experience almost 10 years ago, and from that I learned how to pray.

Prayer was nothing new to me. I'm a Christian. But that experience was so intense and lasted for so long that I prayed each day, and sometimes I prayed all day. Everything I asked for was important, but maybe the most important was silence. I asked that God help me to remain silent when nothing needed to be said, and when I should say something that I would use His words and not mine.

Each thing I prayed for I received. I was so amazed by how I was led through that time that I have continued to pray for strength, patience, and silence. Sometimes I think my silence is misinterpreted for compliance or apathy, so I continue to ask for understanding to know when I should speak and what I should say.

I have been faced with a troubling situation that is a circular argument. No matter how I've tried to make my point clear it has fallen on deaf ears. I've tried coming at it from different angles, looking at the situation from the other point of view, and have consulted with a few outsiders to try to get a clearer picture. Though I have admitted some wrong doing in this situation, the other parties continue to insist that they have done nothing wrong at all.

The picture is clear, but my attempt to make my point has not worked. So instead of continuing to argue the same point and ride the merry-go-round of the argument, I decided to remain silent. It was so clear to me that it would not be worth my time and energy to try any longer.  I had to take control of the situation by not engaging.

I believe that truth will prevail, but for some reason they can't see the truth through me. It will take a different person to bring that truth back again and elicit some positive changes.

I decided to step away altogether and sever the tie. I am thankful for silence, for strength and patience, and for Chuck. He has been so loving and supportive while I've been dealing with this situation.