So yesterday I had to take my five-year-old daughter Lily to urgent care because she fell and really hurt her back. She was playing with the five-year-old boy who lives across the street, and they were having a blast in the backyard jumping in his trampoline. His mom went inside for a split second to get the kids some juice boxes and that was all the time it took for my daughter to fall and hit her back on metal frame. The little boy begged her not to tell because he was afraid she would never be able to play with him or at his house again.
Of course, his mom told us what happened and we got her to urgent care right away. My daughter is fine, nothing’s broken, she’s just going to be sore for a few more days. But, it got me thinking about how often we stay silent, and the reasons why we choose to keep quiet.
Maybe we don’t speak up when our circle of friends is sharing how they feel about political, religious, or any other hot button issue of the day because our views don’t align with theirs and we want them to like us, or we don’t want to cause conflict. Maybe it’s staying silent when a married friend is telling us about some questionable choices and we’re afraid to call them on it. It might be our kids sharing something and we want them to trust us so we hold back from giving them the Godly guidance that the situation truly calls for.
I love the verse in Acts 18:9-10 “do not be afraid, but go on speaking, and do not be silent, for I am with you, and no one will attack you to harm you, for I have many in the city, who are my people.“ It’s such a powerful reminder that when we speak up for what’s right, God always has our back. Not, that we just go around looking to stir up conflict, but when those situations arise, we should not be afraid to speak truth. God is our covering, we can speak truth with that confidence.
