Do you ever teach your kids something, or maybe give some reassuring advice to a friend, or make a wise-sounding remark in Sunday School, and after you say it you think to yourself, I hope God doesn’t test me on this.
Yesterday was that day for me. And I was tested. And I failed miserably.
Mondays usually get off to a rough start for us. The to-do list is long since it is the beginning of the week, and my stress rubs off on the entire family. Add to that the fact that we haven’t seen the sun in two-and-a-half weeks, and our Monday blues were especially bad yesterday.
Anyway, we started out school with our Bible lesson, which was focused on Provberbs 18:21 (a):
Death and Life are in the Power of the Tongue…
So the kids and I talked about the power of our words, how they can build people up or tear them down, make them cry or laugh, bring life or death to someone’s day. And the entire time I was thinking how important this lesson is for me and hoping that I wouldn’t be tested on it.
But I was. We had a HORRIBLE school day that ended in tears for two of us (I’ll let you guess who) and I handled it awfully. I thought a trip to the grocery store would fix our bad moods because we usually have a great time at the store, but that ended with one of Maddie’s famous tantrums when I wouldn’t let her pick out my toothpaste. I’m telling you, it was rough.
And my words tore down and brought death to our day. I am the adult who should have illustrated the lesson that I taught that very morning, but that’s not what happened.
Words are so powerful. And not just the words themselves, but how they are said.
It’s hard for me to find a balance: How to show Jesus’ love to a friend and speak life into her, but stand up for myself and my children at the same time. How to teach Maddie that she cannot scream and cry because she doesn’t get her way in a grocery store, but not embarrass her or make her feel unloved. How to teach my children the things they need to know, but not take my frustrations out on them because they may not be learning exactly as I pictured it in my head.
So most of this day was pretty terrible. At the end of it, I am thankful for four things:
1-A husband who listens and understands and has a sense of humor.
2-Friends who sit at dinner with me and listen to me vent, and just nod their heads in understanding.
3-That I got to put the kids to bed tonight and read them stories and tell them “I love you” in sign language.
4-That tomorrow’s Bible lesson is “Words Have the Power to Heal.”
This post is part of the series I am writing for the #Write31Days writing challenge. Click the image below for more information and to read the rest of my posts for the series.
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