It’s a Constant Battle to Keep Up

James 1:19 - My dear brothers and sisters, take note of this: Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

Your hands are shaking and sweating, so you stick them in your pockets. The conversation between your friends and you keeps moving forward in all directions at break neck speed.
 
You’re trying to keep up, but you just can’t. You try to stay connected to the conversation, but you’re mind starts to focus so much on what you may say that you get left behind. For you, it’s a constant battle trying to keep up.
 
Then, the conversation pauses and everyone is looking at you.
 
“Oh, no!” you think. “Why are they looking at me? Did they ask me for my opinion?” So what do you do? Instead of calmly asking them to repeat their question, you open your mouth and out come the wrong words.
 
When battling anxiety and depression, it is often difficult to keep up with conversations and the directions they’re going in. You’re constantly juggling your thoughts and their words.
 
You face the battle of trying to keep up.
 
So you have several choices:
 

• Will you ask them to repeat what they just said and be honest in saying that you’re having trouble keeping up with the conversation?
• Will you say something about how you need to go because you have something you need to get done and flee from the conversation?
• Or will you tell your friends, that while they’re talking you are trying to absorb what they’re saying so you will have something worth saying and not just speaking off the top of your head.

 
But is it such a bad idea to be slow to speak? Do we always have to be ready with a quick word that means nothing in the midst of the conversation? Just speaking constantly is not a good idea either.
 
How your friends respond to you will tell whether or not you’re going to go down in defeat or catch a break. Take a look at wikihow.com’s article, “How to Continue a Conversation.” The article will show you how to have a meaningful conversation such as taking a look at your surroundings. It can be easy to talk about the weather or a building that’s close by so that you’ll have something real to share. Also, in the article you’ll find out how to be an active listener such as listening as much as you speak.
 
With the help of the article above, you’ll find yourself better prepared and that it’s easier to stay caught up in a conversation. Then the next time you’re surrounded by those friends looking at you for a response, you’ll have something in your back pocket to pull out and speak about.  Before long, you’ll learn as the Bible verse above says, that it is valuable for you to be quick to listen and slow to speak. You’ll find it easier to stay caught up and be able to interject something worthwhile to the conversation.

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