SEPTEMBER 22, Psalm 37:8

Liz hung up the phone and walked into the living room with her arms crossed and her jaw clenched. “That was Elsa,” she said. Her mother frowned. “Don’t tell me you’re still angry with her,” said Mom.

“Yes, I am!” replied Liz. “Elsa shouldn’t have made fun of me that way. She did it right in front of everyone, and they were all laughing at me!” “I know, but you shouldn’t be fussing over it for so long,” said Mom as she knelt down to scrub a spot in the carpet. “You need to get over your anger.”

Liz watched as her mother vigorously worked on the stain in the carpet. She saw that the dark spot made by spilled grape juice wasn’t looking any better than before. “Do you think that will ever come out?” Liz asked.

“I hope so,” said Mom. “Of course, it would have come out a lot easier if I had cleaned it right after the juice was spilled.” Mom wiped sweat off her face and glanced up at Liz. “You should deal with your anger the way I should have dealt with this stain,” she added.

Liz frowned. “What do you mean?” she asked.
Mom continued to rub the dark blotch. “Time has allowed this stain to penetrate into the carpet fibers,” she explained. “Once it’s soaked in and dried, it’s really hard to remove all traces of it. Anger does something like that to your heart. If you let it stay and saturate there, it becomes more and more difficult to remove. Over time, it can grow into bitterness and rage.”

Liz looked at the stain on the carpet and sighed. “I don’t really see how I can help being mad at Elsa,” she said at last, “but I’ll try to get over it.”

Mom smiled. “Right choice! Don’t let your anger build up inside you. Always deal with it right away,” she said. “Start by talking to God about it-and pray for Elsa, too. It’s hard to be angry with someone you’re praying for. With God’s help, you can let your anger go. Then maybe you should call Elsa and ask her to come over so you can talk with her about what happened.”

Liz slowly nodded. “Okay,” she agreed. “I will.”

Thought: Am I still angry with someone over something that happened long ago?

Prayer: Heavenly Father, there are some people who do make me angry, and sometimes I may have a good reason for being angry. But I know that You do not want anger to build up in my heart. Help me to learn to let it go. Teach me to forgive others, just as You have forgiven me. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.