Reactionary

Proverbs 15:1 "A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger." 

I am a reactionary person, I react when someone talks to me harshly or when someone does things that I don't like. I react, I am learning that I need to stop, take a minute and not react. If I could respond with a soft answer, instead of pointing out someone else's faults, how much further along would I be. When a problem happens, it is so easy to say if so and so handled it differently, I wouldn't react so badly, but when I do that I am pointing at that person and how many fingers are pointing back at me. If you are unsure what I mean, take you finger and point at something. How many fingers are pointing back at you? There should be 3, unless you use both hands... 

How easy it is for me to point out other peoples faults, but my own, do I want to look at them? No, not at all, because that would mean I was/am the problem. I don't like admitting that I am the problem, but step back and look at the last fight you may have gotten into, who was the one that started it? Who kept going? Stop blaming someone else, because as I have always stated, I can't change someone else, but I sure can change how I react to someone else. Change starts with acknowledging that I am the problem, that I need to change, that I want to change. Now it is time to do the hard work and do it well. Don't tell me people can't change, it takes work, but it is so worth it. I want to change, I don't want to react, yes I will stumble with this. 3 steps forward, 2 backwards, means I am still moving forward. Remember that if you are reading this and say it is all my spouses issue, you have not learned about the finger pointing trick. When you both work together at a common goal, guess what, you will reach it much quicker, now add God to the mix and WOW amazing things will transform. It takes 3 strands, allow God to wined you together. 

We are human and we will struggle with this, but I will not give up, because in order to climb a mountain I have to keep moving forward or I will not make it to the top. Each change requires work, each thing that I want to accomplish requires work, but I will do that work for the ones I love, because I want to be who God calls me to be, but I have to do the work necessary, because that is what causes change. Being willing to surrender who I am, to be what God calls me to be, I must die to live according to God. People don't like change, but can you imagine changing to what God is calling you to?