The King's Speech

The story of Eugene Allen, a long-time butler in the White House, was portrayed in a recent movie we saw. In a dinner table conversation with our daughter, I remarked at how the man's gentle demeanor and respectful manner set him in good stead with his famous employers. "I guess it really paid off for him," I said, referring to his quiet, polite way of speaking, since he served under eight presidents.

"You know, that's true. It does, Mom," Amy said. "The other day I was talking to a woman at work and said, 'You always seem so calm. I don't think I have ever heard you raise your voice.'

Then the lady said, 'Let me tell you something. I worked for a woman for many years, helping her raise her son. I never raised my voice to him, and after he grew up and went to college, his mother told me how she appreciated that. Every Christmas for many years now, she has sent me a check for $600, and $300 on my birthday.'"


Proverbs 21:36 says of the virtuous wife and homemaker, "She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness." That is a virtue I have always aspired to, but one which is often elusive for me. In today's world where old-fashioned femininity is largely out of style, it is almost the norm for girls and women to speak in strident, assertive voices to prove their equality with males.

The other day I saw part of a reality show on television involving a mother and daughter conversation, and I remarked to my husband how much alike they sounded. I had noticed the girl's soft, almost slow, way of speaking and her well-modulated words, then when I heard her mother, I realized the daughter sounded just like her!

The Bible says in Proverbs 16:24 that pleasant words are like a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and health to the bones. And again in Proverbs 13:3, "He that keepeth his mouth keepeth his life: but he that openeth wide his lips shall have destruction."

Both the aforementioned butler and the caretaker of the child saw the benefits of these attributes in their employment and success in life. As children imitate parents or unconsciously take on their characteristics, may be imitate our heavenly Father and let Him be seen (and heard!) in us.