As I often do while driving through Punxsutawney, I prayed for the town and its inhabitants. Most small towns are notorious for rampant gossip. “There's nothing so delicious as the taste of gossip! It melts in your mouth.” (Proverbs 18:8)

The problem with gossip is that it ultimately reveals the heart of the person who speaks it and tears down the person it is being spoken about. People who love to hear and speak gossip about others hide their true selves behind smoke and mirrors. I agree with Amy Poehler’s quote, “I’ve grown tired of smoke and mirrors. I yearn for the clean, well-lighted space.”

“The heart is hopelessly dark and deceitful,

a puzzle that no one can figure out.

But I, God, search the heart

and examine the mind. I get to the heart of the human.

I get to the root of things. I treat them as they really are,

not as they pretend to be.”

Jeremiah 17:9-10

Father God, help us to “step away” from the day to day noise of gossip and hearsay. Help us to Be Still (Psalm 46:10) and listen for and to Your Voice. You help us face the truth of who we really are deep down and then You show us Who You are. There are no smoke and mirrors with You! Only clean, refreshing, life giving hope and joy and love forever and ever. Amen.