“TO LIVE QUIETLY!”

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12                      (ESV)

“9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by GOD to love one another,

10 for that indeed is what you are doing to all the brothers throughout Macedonia. But we urge you, brothers, to do this more and more,

11 and to aspire “TO LIVE QUIETLY”, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you,

12 so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”  

February 17, 1984 was a MAGNIFICENT day for this man!  I was able to convince (some say swindle!) my girlfriend into becoming my wife, and she is still by my side after 34 1/2 years!  Some kept waiting for her to “come to her senses”, but I’m beginning to think she is going to stick around for awhile!  She gave me this passage of scripture recently and did not know that I was almost instantly spoken to by them. 

My wife has never had a problem with “TO LIVE QUIETLY”!  She didn’t have much of a choice, as I was very talkative, maybe to a fault!  However, the Brain Hemorrhage caused both of us to “adjust”, as I was “brain damaged” and she was thrust into the “head of the house” roll very quickly.   The leak in my brain occurred in the “word recall” portion of my brain, so my speech is not as fluent as it once was.   In fact, my speech has become much more deliberate and more thought is required to be put into words before I speak since the recovery.   

GOD ALMIGHTY definitely has a Plan, not just for my life, but for each of us!  HE knew that I needed to SLOW DOWN my life, especially my mouth, and to only orate the words HE approved.  There have been many times since the Hemorrhage that the opportunity was presented to me to voice my thoughts, and a few times I have actually listened to HIS Guidance.   However, I am still working on “TO LIVE QUIETLY” as my old nature is still a part of me.  

“TO LIVE QUIETLY” is something that has taken a bit of getting used to, but it has certainly been rewarding!  As a matter of fact, the following verse above says “so that you may walk properly”, something that we all should strive to accomplish.  Formerly I was very quick to speak, but have had that ability curtailed by GOD above!  I am learning “TO LIVE QUIETLY” and more and more to “walk properly” as a result!  My wife says she kind of misses the old man I was, but “TO LIVE QUIETLY” has to be more peaceful than I was???