Is “Catching Up” the Same as Gossiping?

On my ‘commute’ to the coffeemaker this morning, I reminisced about the time I recently spent with my daughter.

She had come over to assist me with my business and we worked side-by-side to make a dent in my overwhelmed-ness. We calmly spent several hours getting some organization to my chaos, laughing at some silliness, and imparting trivia or memories on some similar pieces we were handling that we had owned, once upon a time.

Things are not always so smooth between us.

*sigh*

Perhaps it is because she is as headstrong as I? My mother would have said ‘tenacious’, others might say ‘stubborn’, but this morning I am owning all three descriptors about myself, and perhaps I am at odds with her a lot simply because she’s not handling her life the way I think she should? I forget that this is her path, her life; it’s not “My way or the Highway”.

So how many other times have I been at odds with someone simply because they are not doing things ‘my way’?

This morning’s reflecting comes from how often I make a phone call (or two) to vent about something someone else did or said? Is that ‘catching up’ with what’s going on or is it gossiping? Or *gasp* slandering?

The Bible is very clear about just how wrong gossiping is, alikening it to sin that is comparable to murder, so I’m a bit subdued this morning as I recall some of my recent conversations and thoughts.

Well.

*sighing*

This morning my prayers will be for forgiveness and for figuring out how to undo this bad habit of mine.