Not too long ago, Vivienne and I were in the car, heading to pick up Jonah from school. It seems like we always have such interesting conversations when we are driving down the road. Does this happen to you, too?
Maybe it’s because kids know that they have us trapped in this tiny, claustrophobic space and we won’t be able to get away from them, no matter how much we might want to.
Anyway, I digress…
A few minutes into our car ride on this particular day, I heard this question from the backseat:
“Mom, is dod a bad word?”
Since I had no idea what she was talking about, I responded by saying, “No, dod is not a bad word.”
And this is what she said back to me:
“UGH!!! I really want it to be a bad word!”
Friends, do you see what I am up against? This child is such a hoot and most days I can only laugh at the things she says and does. I mean, WHY would she want something to be a bad word? So that she could say it? Why doesn’t she just pick an actual bad word. I’m sure she has heard one or two slip from my mouth.
Sigh…
So many times throughout my day, I find myself feeling frustrated about one thing or another. Perhaps my kids are driving me nuts and I can’t even go to the bathroom alone for 2 minutes. Or maybe I’m being hit by some teen attitude. Or it could be something small like the few dishes in the sink that didn’t get washed the night before.
Frustrations are a part of life.
But we need to be careful not to allow those little frustrations to form in to anger.
I recently heard Cynthia Tobias speak about strong-willed children. My favorite quote from her talk was this:
“Those who anger you, control you.”
Is that as convicting for you as it is for me?
Before hearing this statement, I had never considered that the source of my anger could be controlling me.
Yes, I allow little things to get under my skin, but do they control me? No way!
But the more I meditated on this statement, the more I realized it was true. Because so often, we think that it will feel good to utter a “bad word” or scream in frustration.
However, when we lose control of our emotions, we allow something else to gain control of our reactions.
I am currently reading the book Gods at War by Kyle Idleman. He writes about the many gods the we as Christians worship in our current culture. Things like money, fame, success, entertainment, family and food. It is an interesting and eye-opening read, to say the least.
But I believe that our responses can also become a god of sorts in our lives. When we respond with impatience or rage time and time again, we allow the god of anger to control us.
2 Samuel 22:32-34 says this:
“For who is God besides the LORD? And who is the Rock except our God? It is God who arms me with strength and makes my way perfect. He makes my feet like the feet of a deer; he enables me to stand on the heights.”
I don’t know about you, but I don’t want to give my emotions any more power over me. Instead, I want to lean on the Lord for guidance and patience as He leads me and molds me into the person He has made me to be.
Comment below with your biggest emotional struggle right now. Then name one thing you can do today to start giving control back to the Lord.
so true! our emotions control us even as we think we are controlling others by them. a good word. and i love the title of your site – we are all blessed beyond exhaustion -off to speak those truths into the good ladies of first pres Fresno at their retreat this weekend! a darling family (:
Thank you, Sue! Blessings on your retreat this weekend!
Well why didn’t you tell me about this post like a week ago?? I’ve been having some struggles with this lately…frustration is just SO easy! Thanks for these book recommendations–they sound great!
Um…sorry? Haha! I think you and I are in such a similar life stage that we can identify with pretty much everything the other goes through… I’ll give you a heads up the next time I’mm struggling so you’ll know what’s coming. 🙂