The Tongue Is The Hardest Member To Tame

Has a friend ever hurt you with their words and you were scare to say anything because you were afraid they were going to get defensive and blow up?   I know I sure have and I usually just stuff whatever it is down deep and keep a mental log of how they hurt me.  Well I am the friend who did the offending this time. I have made comments in a friendly teasing way (to me at least) and other comments that just plain out sounded like criticism or judgement.  I just found out that a very good friend of mine (I would consider Best Friend) was ready to write me off because of my tongue.  I am so very glad she came to me and told me that I was hurting her with my words.  Because hurting her is the very last thing I would ever want to do to her! I thought that I was working hard at getting her to trust that I was a safe friend and that our friendship could be amazing, but what I was doing was showing her that I was better than her and she was for lack of a better term a peon.  Man do I feel like pond scum right now!  I have always known that my mouth gets me in trouble and wow, did it ever!
    Proverbs 18:21 (AMP) Death and life are in the power of the tongue, and they who indulge in it shall eat the fruit of it [for death or life].  Wow This verse really says it! I surely do not want our friendship to die! This is something that I will be praying to God for wisdom in! I want to only speak love and encouragement into the lives of my friends and family. This verse in Job will be a verse I am going to live by!  Job 16:5 (AMP) [But] I would strengthen and encourage you with [the words of] my mouth, and the consolation of my lips would soothe your suffering.  Thank you so much to my dear friend, who I hurt with my words. For allowing me to right a terrible wrong! I am so incredibly sorry for making you feel less than.
  If your friendship is worth it please speak up about your hurt.  If your friend thinks its worth it they will do anything they can to fix it.  Now all I have to do is build up her trust, man is this going to be hard! But WORTH IT!!!!