When Silence is not Golden

The Silence is Golden proverb has been around for years and has been used in many different facets. So when is silence not golden?

I have recently been revisiting the life of one of my favorite authors and ancestor Mark Twain. In his autobiography Twain recalls an incident during his boyhood days, one that meant such a great deal to him that it stayed in his memory for years. Before Twain brings along the message however, he makes the point of growing up in Hannibal, Missouri where slavery existed,but they were not mistreated. And as a child he had no aversion of slavery and was not aware that there was anything wrong with it because no one ever brought up the fact that it was wrong at that time.
(so sad and makes slavery even more painful to think about)

On Twain's family farm they had a little slave boy named Sandy whom they hired from someone in Hannibal. Sandy was from the East Coast near Maryland and had been taken away from his family and friends there. Sandy was a cheery spirit,who always carried a smile on his face. All day long you would hear him singing, whistling, laughing.
After awhile Mark Twain found it annoying and explains it as being maddening to him,devastating and unendurable.And then one day Twain lost it and urged his mother to do something to shut him up, for Sandy had been singing for one whole hour without a single break. Mark Twain's mother teared up as she would then explain:

"Poor thing, when he sings it shows that he is not remembering and that comforts me; but when he is still (silent) I am afraid he is thinking and I cannot bear it. He will never see his mother again; if he can sing I must not hinder it, but be thankful for it. If you were older you would understand me; then that friendless child's noise would make you glad."

Mark Twain explains this as being a simple speech from his mother that would live forever within him. And Sandy's noise was no longer bothersome to Mark Twain.

I think this message speaks to us in so many different ways. And for me it brings home the importance of praise within our trials. We do not know what Sandy may have been singing,and whether or not it was because of what Twain's mother had suggested. But we do know that Sandy's singing and cheerfulness had a profound effect on those around him.

John Wesley once wrote:

Rejoice always in uninterrupted happiness to God. Pray without ceasing, which is the fruit of 'always rejoicing'in the Lord. In everything give thanks, which is the fruit of both the former. This is Christian perfection. Further than this we cannot go, and we need not stop short of it.

Some important scripture-based words to live by.

And as for the cheerful singing boy Sandy? I now find myself more interested in learning what became of Sandy and his life rather than the life of Mark Twain's.