Jezebel diaries * Day 2 * The Whisperer

did you hear her latest mischief?
the devil knows her well,
it has to be true
what Christians must do 
is stone that jezebel 

Aaahh, the rumor mill. The one industry that sadly, will never, ever run dry. Constantly fed an unending supply of non-truths, half-truths & mouthwatering morsels of maliciousness, by boring busybodies who can’t get attention any other way. The self appointed Paul Reveres of Christianity, God bless ‘em. Of course, the spreading of misinformation like soft butter on hot bread, is always with only the best of intentions. After all, people need to know what’s been said because.. well, what if it’s true? Or what if it’s partially true? Or what if it happened, IF it happened, somewhere around our community? People deserve to know. And oh yeah. We need to pray for that poor soul.

Good evening dear diary and friends, me here. Head Jezebel. I’ve been trying for a couple of days to get this entry from my head to you. Or really just “from” my head. The “to” could literally be anywhere else. But in keeping with the goal of helping someone who may be negotiating gossip gone wild, I’ll try to share this. Maybe it’s for you. Or maybe it’s been you. Maybe there was smoke and no fire. Maybe there wasn’t even a match to make a spark, but it didn’t stop life from blowing up in your face. It happens. I’ve got you.

I spend most of my time at home, these days. Not really big on some of the groupie girl things I see a lot of other ladies doing. It always looks like so much fun.. the painting classes, Bunco, Zumba. Well, actually Zumba doesn’t even look like fun to me, but there’s always a cute post with some laughing ladies who seemed to have a good time. So it crosses my mind now and then, that I wish I could do stuff like that. But I tend to stay to myself and have, for the last 20 years or so. We Jezebels don’t always have a big circle of friends.

In my Bible study group recently, we were talking about gossip and just how devastating it can be. Yet, it’s as common as breathing. Even among those wonderful, well-meaning, Godly people who are, oh so spiritually aware, that they think they can lead others to a deeper understanding of God.. but first, they’ll need to spread lots of “did you knows” and “did you hears” and “bless her hearts”. They’re the whisperers. These are the real devils of the church. That’s exactly what the Bible calls them: evil. And their most favorite meal is a juicy Jezebel story. I’ve been at that table more than once…as the meal, never as a guest. And they feed until their eyes glaze over. Jezebel Juice is food for the gods.

It took a while for me to see people like that, for what they really are. It’s a painful process. It’s a lonely process. People you once wanted to call friend, now have an actual scent. It’s a smell they can’t hide because it comes from something dying deep inside. They’re whisperers. And they smell like death. They kill the weaker of us. They kill the struggling, who are just trying to wake up one more day. They kill hope and faith. They kill the desire to stand up and try again. They kill the want to be any part of God’s church. Guys.. if that’s not the smell of death, I don’t know what is.

Luckily for myself and other Jezebels out there, I’ve figured out how to handle people who step on others to feel better about themselves: I don’t. They are what they are for a reason. They’re the devil’s creation and God’s problem. They’re nothing to me, besides people I have to try and find a way to pray for. * Insert huge frustrated sigh. * Being a Jezebel ain’t for sissies. There’s a whole lot of alone time and “oh wow.. that’s not gonna work for me”. I remove myself from unhealthy places on a regular basis. I carefully pick and choose the ones I let in my life at all. If I call you friend, there’s a reason. I saw something special in you that touched me. If I once called you friend but no longer do, there’s a reason. I saw something in you that didn’t want the best for me. One thing about the Jezebel intuition: it’s spot on every single time.

Jezebel diary * day 2 * cliff notes *the Paul Reveres of Christianity are coming both by land and by sea; *it takes the same spark to warm someone’s heart or blow up their world; *I don’t Zumba but I’ll cheer you on with my bag of M&Ms; *Whisperers are in big trouble with our big God; *if I removed myself from your situation, you lost; *Jezebels are often alone because we fought to rise above a hurtful world and spend our time with Jesus.