Idle words

This past weekend I went to an overnight scrap book thingy with some of my peeps.  :) 
It was fun to see my friends and to get some of those long forgotten pictures into an album.

I was so looking forward to this get away and was zinging with excitement when I got there. 
I walked in the door expecting to see the smiling faces of my friends, but before I could get my coat off there was a shrill voice in the air announcing that my relative (distant cousin) was there. 
She then proceeded to talk, and talk, and try to go down personal family roads with me more than once.  When it was obvious that I would not partake, she began talking about her family and putting down her husband and children.  She spoke words of bitterness, contempt, and self praise. 
This was not only trying for me, but also for my friends. We just wanted to hang out and scrap book.
I wanted to say something, do something to make it better, but could not. 
My only option was silence and praying for the Lord to help me control my tongue.

I have been pondering the experience and have come up with some interesting conclusions that need to be applied in my own life.

Oh, how many times have I read in my quiet times about the virtue of having a meek and quiet spirit?

Proverbs 29: 11
"A fool vents all his feelings,
But a wise man holds them back."

Proverbs 29:20
"Do you see a man hasty in his words?
There is more hope for a fool than for him."

Proverbs 30: 21-23
"For three things the earth is perturbed,
Yes, for four it cannot bear up:
For a servant when he reigns,
A fool when he is filled with food,
A hateful woman when she is married,......"

And finally
Proverbs 31:10-11
"Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her."

Am I too free with my words?  Do I come out looking like a fool sometimes because of my babblings?
Can my husband trust his heart to me?  Can he trust that I will not embarrass him, slander him, stir up strife?
Do I think before I speak?

2 Timothy 2:15-17
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.  But shun profane and idle babblings, for they will increase to more ungodliness.  and their message will spread like cancer."

There you have it, a profane and idle babbler is like cancer. 
And I will use last weekend as a reminder to myself to remember that what I speak and how I act is a direct reflection of my heart.  May I glorify God with my words and show His great love through my actions.