There are two types of quiet people (that’s not counting the sneaky ones or the sleepy ones). There are those who feel very comfortable and happy with being quiet, and there are those who constantly feel put down and singled out for being quiet.
If you’re in the first group, then having someone point out your quietness is like having someone point out your hair color or your shoe size. It’s not even a deal. It’s just words floating by, and the need to explain yourself doesn’t even cross your mind.
If you’re in the second group, then having your quietness pointed out is like having someone tell you that you’re broken and abnormal. It hurts, and the words hover around your heart making you feel somehow less than adequate and even more unsure about what you should say.
Scientists have done studies on how much people talk (women 20,000 words/day; men 7,000 words/day ), so it would seem that quiet people have a quota they need to be working toward. Of course, maybe if you factor in all of the people who talk waaaaaaaaaaay too much then there is some sort of balance in the world’s equilibrium.
In doing research for this post, I found that just as quiet people sometimes may feel singled out for their lack of input, there are large groups of loud people trying to figure out how they can put a sock in it and stop before they’ve said too much. It seems that there are large groups in both camps who either don’t understand how they’re wired or understand it, but just don’t like it.
Maybe the moral here has nothing to do with how much a person talks, but rather should be pointing to a big “Be Yourself” poster. Of course you have to know yourself before you can actually feel comfortable “being yourself.” I point that out because a lot of people waste a lot of time trying to be what they think other people want them to be, when all they really need to do is be who they’ve been created to be.
Even better than “being yourself” ( I know, you’re thinking what could be better than that. Keep reading!) is the FACT that you are already completely known by God. There’s no discovery going on for him. He already knows why you’re sitting there in that crowded room quiet and feeling like your silence is screaming. He knows it all, and he not only knows you, but he created you. His whole plan for you to be more like Jesus starts with you being YOU.
You’re not alone in that crowd. He’s there, and if you let him he will not only show you who you really are, but he will help you be who you long to be.
So get to know yourself, who you are, what you want, and trust God with all of it. I’m pretty sure that when he’s directing the paths their will be some who stand and shout and others who quietly fall to their knees completely speechless and neither group will be thinking about whether or not they’re doing the right thing. They will already know.
