Raised Eyebrows

I've spent the last two weeks staring at my grandson. His little face is so sweet and right now, he likes to raise his barely visible eyebrows.
My kids always disliked my eyebrows;
not their color, not their form butthe fact that my eyebrows were on a continual journey to my hairline.
My kids knew that if my eyebrows were up, my back was up and they would not listen to my words until those eyebrows made their way back down to where they belonged.
Did you know that only about 7% of communication is understood through words? This is disappointing to someone who enjoys words! What are the implications? The implications are that my words are almost entirely interpreted through the effects of my tone and my body language. Tone and body language are far more effective at conveying my heart than the words I choose. So while I may hope to control my words with wisdom...I cannot always control my fingers, my lips, my shoulders, my arms...
My tapping foot may betray my impatient heart while my mouth is speaking words of understanding. My narrowed lids may condemn while my mouth speaks forgiveness.
The thing is, our hearts are the instructors of our thoughts, and our hearts are in a struggle.
Even when we know our hearts may be wrong,
even when we are trying to get our tongues to behave,
our hearts are there to twist up what we are attempting to straighten.
I simply cannot say effective words (or write them) if I am forming them exclusively by ruminating in my inner world. Communication, in all forms, reaches out from the heart and touches others from tricky tangled wounds and limits.
"The heart is deceitful above all things...". Jer. 17:9
King David knew this!
In Psalm 139:17 he writes: "How precious are Your thoughts to me, O God! How vast is the sum of them!" but in verse 2, he writes: "You understand my thought_ from afar"
So, where God's thoughts are endlessly plural, a treasure hunt...an adventure, a discovery; my thoughts are incredibly limited, singular and predictable.
David recognizes these truths about himself and God. Instead of treasuring his own opinions, musings and conclusions, he seeks the God who perfectly understands and loves.
This is convicting to me.
My heart IS a tricky and tangled maze of feelings. My feelings have developed through my own experiences...and as a result, I have limited understanding and my thoughts can be misleading.
That's why above all, I absolutely MUST find His thoughts far more precious than my own! His thoughts toward us come from His pure heart. His thoughts are endlessly wise and immeasurably good.
And while His thoughts are communicated to me through His Word, I interpret them through what feels like His tone and His body language.
The Church, as Christ's body-
is communicating Him through our "body" language.
We help or hurt each other's ability to know Him.
I have to ask:
Do our shrugs say "He is indifferent" while our mouths speak "He cares"?
Do our raised chins say "He is a tyrant" while we recite "He came to serve"?
Do our shaking heads say "He's done with you" while we quote "He saves"?

Christ's "body language" is emerging from His people and influencing the interpretations of His Word.
If I cannot trust the thoughts I form from hurt feelings and limited perceptions,
if my communication is screaming from deeper places than my intellect or carefully developing theology than my heart must be lifted to Him again and again and again
for His examination and correction.
The One who created my "inmost being" is the One who knows and the only One whose thoughts can be trusted.
"Search me, O God, and know my heart..." Psalm 139:23
show me the hurtful ways in me,
and lead me in the way that leads to You.