Nervous Chatter.

It seems as if you can put people into two categories. There are those who remain quiet and reserved and then there are the others. They are the individuals who will tell you their whole life story the very first time you meet them. 

I enjoy talking to people. There are times when I am reserved in an effort to become better acquainted with someone, asking the right questions. Yet, there are other times that I am like a nervous chatterbox. I can’t seem to help myself and talk too much.

I tell people that I don’t mind meeting and engage in conversation with strangers. It’s true that I still get nervous when I first meet someone. Sometimes the awkwardness of that first engagement means that I have to fill the gap in conversation. If I discipline myself, then I will ask more questions and stay focused on their needs resident my own. 

I’m sure you met someone like me who seems to fill the space where there should be silence. My hope is to be helpful because I think most people are quiet and reserved. I try to ease the tension of those awkward moments through conversation. A few laughs and a short story typically breaks the ice of awkward silence. At least I hope it does.

And a recent article that I wrote I talked about the importance of letting God help you. I needed that article more than anyone else because it’s a reminder of how often I forget that God is my present help in times of difficulty or need. Sometimes my relationship with the Lord has similarities. In an awkward time of silence in my prayer time, I tend to fill the silence with chatter. Might even come to the Lord with a list of request rather than waiting for his direction. I tend to tell him what I want rather than listen for what is best.

I suppose I’m like a nervous chatterbox within those awkward, silent moments and become noisy. Not necessarily in what I say, but in my own attempt to solve my own issues. Rather than waiting on the Lord for help, I tend to take matters into my own hands.

Feeling a bit convicted, going into 2023. I asked the Lord to give me one word that could guide my devotional time, as well as my need to make a list of objectives. The word that the Lord gave me is, patience. It’s a word that I feel is defined best by the phrase, “waiting on the Lord.“

It’s a profound word for me because I don’t like to wait, and I like to solve problems quickly. For me, putting a Band-Aid on a problem is enough. I want to get to the conclusion quickly and unfortunately, I believe that I want to be the hero in the drama.

I’ve wrestled with this for many years. I have struggled over the years and it is often a reoccurring theme in my life. I hold onto the hope that I am not who I once was but I’m not yet who I am yet to become! 

A friend appearing to hold up this solo 
on his own. Thank you Cindy Hall.

Even in my attempt for self improvement, I tend to quickly go to a knowledge base on my own, rather than the Word of God, depending upon the Lord. 

How about you? Do you draw your identity from what you do rather than from who God is?

Without a doubt we have similarities. Since our world is performance driven we tend to accommodate it and take to the performance.

Like the picture, we believe that we can hold up the silo all on her own!