Last week I saw my 95-year-old grandmother for the first time in about seven years. She lives in a nursing home in Idaho, and I haven’t been back to that state for quite a while. One of my brothers and I went to see her, and spent about 1 ½ hours talking with her and holding her hands.

She doesn’t remember much these days, including who we are. Occasionally, we would see glimpses of the old “Gram.” She didn’t string together many sentences, but she did manage to ask several questions. And one thing is sure – she hasn’t lost her sweetness. She’s still kind, still patient, and still very positive. But here’s the thing that stands out to me about my grandmother:  I’ve never heard her say a negative word about anyone. Even when I was a kid, and I watched her receive poor treatment from family members, she would always rush to the offender’s defense if someone else spoke poorly of them.

I hope that my sons can say of their dad:  “I haven’t heard my dad say anything negative about anyone… in the last week.”  I’ve told them for years, “I don’t want to say anything behind someone’s back that I wouldn’t say to their face.” I’m successful at times, and at other times I fail, embarrassingly. Mainly, my trouble occurs when I don’t reject the opportunity to criticize — bad drivers, actors, contractors, singers on American Idol…

The reason I was in Idaho and got to see my family was that I was attending the Great Northern Supersectional Conference for CCCA. Their keynote speaker, Bob Kraning, delivered a strong message about the power of words, cementing in my mind the need for more attention in this area.

I’ve been memorizing James 3:2 — “We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is without fault in what they say, they are perfect; able to keep their whole body in check.” (NIV) Wow. Seriously?

I’ll be talking about this topic at the Carolinas/Virginias Supersectional in a couple weeks, and I’m still learning to apply the verse to my life. I think there’s a lifetime of effort ahead of me in this area. You?