Wrath

I was angry.  Boy was I hot!  Not only did I have a super long week, but Sunnie was being rebellious...and I'm pretty sure it was raining, which makes things even worse.  I was packing everything up to meet Jeff in Lancaster for a family gathering.  As I was running out the door I told mom exactly how perturbed I was.  Her words, "you need to work on that, before you get there." helped a little.  I tried to get over my frustration with the multitude of things, but the three hour drive just made things worse.  My favorite songs on the radio wouldn't even help.  I was ornery and there was no snapping out of it.
When I arrived to Lancaster, I stopped at the Walmart.  I called Jeff to see if he needed me to get anything.  "What isle are you on?  I'm at Walmart too," he said.  My thoughts exploded.  I knew I wasn't in good shape to run into anyone I knew, especially husband.  He found me by the rice crispies and much to his dismay, he encountered an unhappy, on the edge wife.
For the next 10 minutes he followed me around the store as I blurted out all the horrible reasons why I was frustrated...a few of them included him.  When it was his turn, his calm, supportive response pointed me to Proverbs 15:1.

"A gentle answer turns away wrath,

but a harsh word stirs up anger."

Instead of reflecting my horrible attitude, he showed me love.  Instead of exposing my faulty expectations, he comforted me.  Instead of walking away, he offered to help.  Instead of stirring up more anger, he turned away wrath. 

The reasons why I was so bothered aren't important...it was weeks ago!  Mostly just little things piled onto a high stress week.  The point is that we must decide how to react to moments like Jeff was faced with.  He knew the right reaction long BEFORE I stormed down isle 6.  Anticipate the struggle and decide to respond the Christlike way.  Proverbs 17:27 states, "The one who has knowledge uses words with restraint, and whoever has understanding is even-tempered."

Thank you LORD for mercy.