In Today's Christian Woman, Ramona Cramer Tucker writes:

My friend Michelle admits to being caught in a nasty situation. While at a restaurant over lunch, Michelle and her coworker, Sharon, stopped in the restroom to fix their makeup before returning to their jobs. Their small talk turned to the subject of who drove them crazy. Immediately Michelle launched into a two-minute diatribe about Beth, a mutual coworker. As Michelle prepared to divulge more specifics, a stall door opened. Out walked Beth, red-faced and angry.

In a split second, what had seemed like a pressure-relief session turned into an awkward mess. Michelle and Beth stared at each other in embarrassed panic. Michelle knew she couldn't take her words back. In the instant their eyes met, Beth fled out the door. That afternoon, Beth didn't return to work, and the next day Michelle heard through the grapevine that Beth had resigned. While other staff members openly cheered what seemed to be good news, Michelle felt miserable. She wished she would have talked to Beth instead of talking about Beth.

Although that situation happened five years ago, Michelle's never forgotten it. She tried to reach Beth several times by phone, then wrote her a letter of apology, but Beth never responded. Michelle says she, too, learned her lesson about loose lips— the hard way. What's worse is that Michelle's a Christian, and Beth, to her knowledge, isn't.