Talking, Growing, Learning

"I will not talk in class; for when I talk in class I impede the learning process."

Those are the words my mind will never forget, and my hand will never forgive my mouth for.

It was my eighth grade year, my fourteenth birthday, and I was my typical self, talkative. And where did it get me? At my kitchen table, writing five hundred lines, happy birthday to me. I was known as the class clown/dare devil by my friends, the social butterfly by my mother, the brutally honest one by my family, and the sometimes to-talkative one by my teachers.

Its not that I talked in class out of purpose disrespect, I liked, and enjoyed all of my teachers; I just had the hardest time keeping my mouth shut.

"There is a time to talk, and a time to listen Kayla Neal."

These were the words my mom would tell me on a weekly basis, as I wrote: "I will not talk in class; for when I talk in class I impede the learning process." five hundred times on my notebook paper, she bought with her well earned money. I honestly don't know if writing that scentence five hundred times did the job. In my opinon, at the time, was that it was an extreme waste of paper, and my mom should do something about it. Can you imagine now, with all this "green" talk, they probably make the students text it five hundred times on their school issued iPad. (Wow, how the world has changed. Do teachers even make kids write lines anymore?)

I have been thinking a lot lately about Christ's calling on my life, and I have come to the conclusion that it could involve talking. What a perfect fit that would be right? Well, the more I read, and the more I pray, I have learned that God is sort of known for using His children's big flaws, to make an even bigger impact for His kingdom. In fact every person ever used by God, has been flawed, simply because they are human. 

Rather my calling is in talking to others and encouraging them, or if its something completely different, I find strength in knowing that God can use it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly.

-K