My goal is, when someone says or does something that irritates me even a little bit, that I would dismiss it, that is I would choose not to let my mind dwell on it and get all tied in a knot over it. I do that by pro-actively praying for God to bless them as soon as I have the irritated thought, or I say in my mind to myself, “Lord, thank You for forgiving me of so many things 10X that bad, I choose to forgive them now, please help me” or I simply start meditating on a verse or verses that teach patience, forgiveness,and kindness, such as Ephesians 4:25-32. These work well 95% of the time, but occasionally I struggle and let myself get in a grumpy mood. I had a wonderful evening with Patty and friends at a nice restaurant tonight, and then when I got home I let someone I hardly know get under my skin, and I spent the evening at home being grumpy and sullen. Now as I think about it I feel foolish, wimpy, and childish. The only good thing is that I don’t think I acted the way I felt to much, because nobody asked me what was wrong. I often confuse myself in that these out of the blue lapses in maturity make me wonder what I am really made of. About the only thing that comes to mind is Paul’s words, “Oh wretched man that I am” , someday I will be free of this body and this world.
Thank you for your transparency.
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Really, really good advice; thanks!
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