Laurel A. Ness: The Silence Experiment

Thursday, March 23, 2017

The Silence Experiment

All my fiction books so far include moms of different kinds--some single, some married; some nice, some mean; some are main characters in the story, others aren't seen as much. All are flawed--some aware of the fact and others oblivious. Writing about moms is relatively easy. Being one in real life is much more complicated. I fail pretty much daily in one way or another. Last night, after an undoutbtedly-divinely-arranged series of events, I "suddenly" knew what I need to do when the peace in our home is disturbed by certain conflicts. The following is a brief summary of what is about to take place:

I finally realized, through much prayer and seeking and listening, that silence is the key. Or at least a key worthy of trying.

See, there's this precious almost-man living in my house, and sometimes things get tense between him and me.

Instead of immediately putting him in his place, I am going to be silent and listen to whatever he says, pleasant or unpleasant. Listen. No matter how my lips twitch to speak.

Me=Silent. Mouth zipped shut; locked; invisible key tossed away like a preschooler does.

And then I'm going to think. And pray.

Then, and only then--if necessary--I will speak. I will speak words filtered through love.

After a time, I will report to you how it goes. No specifics. Just results--does appropriate silence make a difference in conflict?

We shall see.

Lord, help me.


I would love to send you a free Christian Fiction eBook! Just send me an email with "Free Book" in the subject line, and I will send you the link and a personal message. You will then receive occasional emails with encouragement and news from me. (If link above fails, my email address is laurelaness@gmail.com.