Don't Cry Over Spilled Milk...or Cereal

God has a great sense of humor, so great it makes me cringe sometimes. This morning was one of those times.

I had just spent some nice time with God and part of that time was contemplating a particular verse in James. James 1:19b had this to say to me this morning:

Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry.

I read that and thought that God was trying to tell me that I needed to not speak so much...that it was OK if I didn't get my point across all the time.

Then I came upstairs to find my son eating breakfast before leaving for school. He said, "Dad, I spilled the cereal." He had literally poured more Cheerios outside of his bowl than what had ended up in the bowl and it was not only on the counter but all over the floor.

And because mercy is not one of my spiritual gifts, I responded with, "So what are you going to do about it?"

Robbie said, "But dad, if I clean this up I'll miss the bus!"

Having an early morning meeting today, I didn't feel I had much time, but I said, "OK, I'll help you. You keep eating and between bites and I want you to pick up the Cheerios on the floor while I clean the counter."

So he began doing this. When he had a handful he started to put it back in the bag. I said, "No Robbie, throw those in the sink." So he did, or at least attempted to. He tried to throw them in the sink from where he was standing which was about 10 feet away. Needless to say, the Cheerios he had just picked up went everywhere but in the sink. Ughhh!

I guess God was trying to tell me He wanted to work on something else in me, my anger. I believe I did a decent, but not great, job of masking my anger. I didn't scream or yell, but I'm sure if you asked Robbie, he would tell you that he knew I was angered.

Sure, this disappoints me. But thankfully, I'm growing in this area and I'm not who I used to be.