SAY SORRY

Ever have a day where it’s just one thing after another? While your busy cleaning up the broken dishes on the floor that your toddler pulled out of the cabinet lickety-split as you dared to fill the dishwasher, they’ve moved on to climbing the bookshelf, all before 8am?

Some days we need to lace up our sneakers extra tight because it’s going to be a race to bedtime! Maybe I was a little on edge after the thirty minutes it took to dress everyone in their snow gear and march out the door to embark on our winter wonderland adventure, building snow-castles and snowmen, sledding and making snow angels. The trees were idyllic with white lace filling their branches. It was the perfect scene to create joy-filled memories!

Unfortunately, it didn’t go as planned. There was complaining over having to wear a scarf, sulking because gloves were too big and frustration that snow pants weren’t pink. Regardless, we were going to have fun! We started in on building the snow castle. We were overcoming the obstacles. I started to see smiles on faces and I squeezed my exercise in by pulling kids in sleds around our yard. My oldest was ready for the snowball fight. I established just one rule – no throwing snowballs at her baby brother. Now maybe it was the fact that with the big gloves she couldn’t quite turn the snow into a ball and so she misunderstood my instructions but almost immediately after I issued the decree, a heaping pile of snow went into her brother’s face and down his neck. Now there were new shrieks filling the air, and they weren’t joyful. Thankfully this all occurred after we had walked what seemed like miles from our house so that I could really feel the extra burn in my workout, carrying a screaming child and a sled back to our home while the melodious complaints of someone else that wanted to be carried, filled the air;)

Just the other night, I had prayed that God would remove anger from my life. Now here I was being given the perfect opportunity to practice setting aside my desire to vent and allow God’s Grace to be shown through me. I held it together the best I could, unsure of why all this anger has been brewing up inside me lately.

Bath time and bed came early. I was ready for a quiet moment. As I kneeled by my sweetheart’s bed, I wondered how I could ever be mad at such a precious little angel. I swallowed my pride and told her that I was sorry I yelled at her but that it’s frustrating when she doesn’t listen. Without being asked, she apologized to me. A whole new level of love and sweetness filled the air. To be on the receiving end of a heartfelt sorry was refreshing.

It led me to reflect on my own actions. When I prayed that anger would be removed from my life, I asked without believing it was possible. Why would I doubt that God is capable when I’ve already experienced His Mighty Work on multiple occasions? So I apologized for doubting Him and prayed Psalm 51:7-8 “Purify me from my sins, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. Oh give me back my joy again; you have broken me – now let me rejoice.”

With those simple words, my heart filled with excitement over a life free from anger. I’m already starting to see that it’s a choice. I can choose to bite my tongue, to humble myself when I want to be heard, to trust that His Spirit, which lives in me, is strong enough to overcome any emotion. So, now I wait patiently, knowing, that I’ll have many opportunities to practice;)

What causes you to be angry and how do you regain your peace?

#psalm5178 #godsgrace #toughdays #sayingsorry