Spare The Anger Not The Rod

Several months ago I had a motherhood meltdown. Fisher had woke up with a bad, I-don't-care attitude and it made me mad. My morning was ruined because of the disrespect on his part and the yelling on mine. We were late for school, the little ones were whining and I had all I could handle. I yelled, screamed and went through the house on a rampage. No rear end was safe. I spanked for talking back, I spanked for disobeying and I spanked because it-has-just-been-too-long-and-you're-due-one. In the aftermath of tears and frustration I began to feel guilty and unworthy of rearing the blessings God had entrusted in my care. I had completely stepped out of line and allowed my anger to dictate the disciplining of my children. After dropping Fisher off at school I drove home feeling horrible and like a failure as a mom. When I got home I sat down and opened my Bible to Proverbs 29. The entire passage was appropriate for what I was feeling but six particular verses jumped off the pages at me:

vs. 3 "A man who loves wisdom brings joy to his father."

My thoughts: "Yes Lord! That's right! I need to teach my kids to love wisdom to bring joy to ME oh, and to you, of course..."

vs. 8 "Mockers stir up a city, but wise men turn away anger."

My thoughts: "Oooo, anger...I didn't turn away from my anger today..."

vs. 11 "A fool gives full vent to his anger, but a wise man keeps himself under control."

My thoughts: "Ouch. The anger thing again. And self-control? Oops."

vs. 15 "The rod of correction imparts wisdom, but a child left to himself disgraces his mother."

My thoughts: "Yeah! I imparted some wisdom, and that's right...disgraces his mother!"

vs. 17 "Discipline your son, and he will give you peace; he will bring delight to your soul."

My thoughts: "Somehow, I think this discipline is different than the discipline I just did."

vs. 22 "An angry man stirs up dissension, and a hot-tempered one commits many sins."

My thoughts: "Ok, I get it and boy did I screw it up this morning. I'm supposed to discipline my children, they need the guidance and boundaries, but the disciplining I do out of anger and frustration is WRONG. I need to control myself, my reactions and my anger when disciplining my children."

So after digesting all that I had read I thanked the Lord for "imparting wisdom" to me by reprimanding me for my lack of self-control and for encouraging me to continue to discipline my children but in a better, more patient and loving way. Priscilla Shrier said in her One In A Million Bible study that, "the way we learn to utilize the fruits of the spirit is by being put in situations where we have to use them." In other words, God puts us in situations that require patience, self-control, kindness...so that we learn to be patient, self-controlled, kind... I never thought of it that way. Every time I have prayed for the Lord to help me be more patient or self-controlled, he has answered me in the form of potty training, temper tantrums and a child waking up with a bad attitude.

For dinner tonight not much patience is required since pita pizzas only take 10 minutes to make and enjoy!

Pita Pizzas
2 (6 loaf) bags of pita bread
1 jar pizza sauce
2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 (3 oz) bag pepperoni
onions, mushrooms, green peppers or any other preferred pizza toppings

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Using the pita bread as pizza crust, top each one with sauce, cheese, pepperoni and other toppings. Bake for 10 minutes or until cheese is melted. Cut into quarters and serve with a tossed salad.