Sometimes, I get a little stinky.
My attitude, that is.
Sometimes, my mama-bear claws come out and I want to start growling in defense of my young one. I don’t want to use the nice words and have a heart-to-heart talk laden with honey and sweetness. I just want to roar, “Hey! That’s my baby, and knock it off!”
But, nothing good is going to come from that approach. (I tried already, to no avail.) I know my only choice is to bite my tongue, breath and simmer down, lest I make the situation worse. You mama’s and papa’s know, when it comes to our babies, that’s not easy to do!
But when the choices made by another person are beyond my own control, what other solutions are left? It leaves me angry, frustrated, and feeling helpless.
So, I mentally give it to my Lord, take some deep breaths, and try to, as that infamous song says, “Let it go!, Let it go!”
I also want my child to learn a better way to manage these situations in life, being careful not to adopt the characteristics being exhibited by this other person.
I don’t want to harbor bitterness or contempt in my heart. It almost literally hurts in my gut. It’s not good for me.
So I pray:
Search me, God, and know my heart;
test me and know my anxious thoughts.
See if there is any offensive way in me,
and lead me in the way everlasting.
Psalm 139:23-24
For I cannot change that other person, I am not responsible for their actions and stinky attitudes. But I am responsible for my own.
So even though that circumstance has not resolved yet and I see no signs that it will be in the near future, I will pray for my child and for that person who can’t see beyond her own self at the present time.
Lord, I give this circumstance to you. I trust you.