PSALM 37: 7-9
Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.
This is such a hard topic and issue for me to learn! I have a family trait that has been almost bred into me by my father. Yell now, ask questions later oh, and never apologize. I find it so hard to keep my temper when dealing with even the most minute or trivial issues.
My daughter came home after riding the Bus from her new school for the first time. My wife and I were both there to greet her and both of us realized something was wrong when she got off the bus. We thought that she was going to be so happy, so I had thought because this was the day she gets to ride the bus for the first time. She did not look very happy. After we picked her up and drove home, we asked her why she seemed so sad? She immediately just said that she wanted to go up to her room and start her homework. My wife and I both tried to ask her what was wrong several times until she finally broke down and started crying about how her teacher asked her to redo her work over again and do it faster. Of course, this is her words and we do not know the teachers story, yet.
My wife got her to settle down a little bit, but mind you our daughter is the head strong I can do it my self without any one's help kind of girl. She started raising her voice over Mom so I immediately went on the "MY VOICE IS LOUDER THAN YOUR VOICE AND IF YOU DON'T LISTEN THEN I WILL PULL YOU BACK OUT OF THIS SCHOOL AND PUT YOU BACK INTO HOMESCHOOLING!"
Wow, where did that come from? I know that sometimes she needs someone to have a firm voice and to stop her from talking over her Mom or myself for that matter. But, I would have to say that my father just jumped out of me and blasted her like a Heavy Blaster from STAR WARS! Yea, I am an old Star Wars Geek all grown up..
After my tirade, I knew that I had spoken harsh words out of anger and spite, which she never deserves any of that. I feel remorse and still have not apologized to her for yelling at her the way I did. Looks like it is time for me to go and be humble before the Lord and say I am sorry to the most wonderful daughter in the world. Being a father sure does make you learn very quickly about mistakes. My wife never said a word, but I could tell she thought I overstepped my bounds.
So now, I pray that God shows me the way to be patient! Please Lord, forgive me for my sins. Show me the righteous path and show me the truth no matter how hard or bitter it is for me to swallow. I thank you Lord so much for my daughter. She is so precious to me, just as Christ Jesus is to you. Please change me from within to be a patient man.
In Jesus name, Amen.
