{"id":497,"date":"2022-12-17T04:21:48","date_gmt":"2022-12-17T04:21:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staceypardoe.com\/BekahPardoe\/?p=497"},"modified":"2022-12-11T19:58:36","modified_gmt":"2022-12-11T19:58:36","slug":"how-to-be-gentle-when-you-feel-annoyed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staceypardoe.com\/BekahPardoe\/how-to-be-gentle-when-you-feel-annoyed\/","title":{"rendered":"How to Be Gentle When You Feel Annoyed"},"content":{"rendered":"

Do you find it difficult to be gentle when you feel frustrated?\u00a0 Maybe a certain friend really knows how to push your buttons, or maybe you feel annoyed when a certain family member points out your faults.\u00a0 Let’s talk about how to be gentle when you feel annoyed and irritated.<\/em><\/p>\n

How to Be Gentle When You Feel Annoyed<\/h3>\n

\u201cA gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger\u201d (Proverbs 15:1, NIV).<\/p>\n

Mom\u2019s Thoughts on How to Be Gentle:<\/h4>\n

Imagine your family is in the car heading home after a long day.\u00a0 Everyone is tired\u2014everyone except your little brother who took a two-hour nap late in the day.\u00a0 All you want to do is stare out the window and zone out in silence.\u00a0 Unfortunately, your little brother will not<\/em> stop talking.<\/p>\n

\u201cMom, where does pizza come from?\u201d he asks.<\/p>\n

Your mom patiently explains the basic process for making pizza.\u00a0 You can tell she\u2019s tired too, but she\u2019s keeping her cool.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut where do tomatoes come from?\u201d he asks after she explains the part about the pizza sauce.\u00a0 \u201cDo they grow on tomato trees like apples grow on apple trees?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cNo buddy, they grow on vines,\u201d she calmly replies.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat\u2019s a vine?\u201d he questions.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you ever <\/em>stop talking?!\u201d you scream.<\/p>\n

The words are out of your mouth before you can stop them.\u00a0 You catch your mom\u2019s gaze in the rearview mirror, and you can tell she\u2019s not pleased.\u00a0 Before she can correct you, your brother reaches across the backseat and punches you in the arm.\u00a0 In return, you punch his shoulder almost as hard as you can.<\/p>\n

Within seconds, everyone in the car is wailing.\u00a0 It\u2019s a full-blown meltdown.\u00a0 Your mom just put the four-way flashers on and has pulled to the side of the road.\u00a0 This is going to be bad.<\/p>\n

~~~<\/p>\n

We hope you\u2019ve never lived through a similar version of this situation, but we\u2019re going to be real with you here, so here\u2019s the truth about our family: We\u2019ve lived out a similar version of this scenario within our family.\u00a0 More than once.<\/p>\n

And here\u2019s the clincher: Do you recognize the moment when this situation went off the rails?\u00a0 It wasn\u2019t the moment when your little brother wouldn\u2019t stop talking.\u00a0 Instead, it was the moment when you lost your patience and yelled at him.\u00a0 From that moment forward, everything fell apart.<\/p>\n

Today\u2019s verse tells us that a gentle<\/a><\/strong> answer turns away wrath.\u00a0 It\u2019s not easy to be gentle and patient when you feel frustrated, but exchanging impatience for gentleness would impact the majority of conflict within most families.<\/p>\n

Bekah’s Thoughts (Girl to Girl):<\/h4>\n

Do you ever feel annoyed with people? Sometimes, bickering can lead to problems, and these problems lead to more problems. That’s why it’s very important to always be gentle instead of bickering.<\/p>\n

Imagine you and your friend wore the same outfit to school on picture day, and you both felt angry with each other.\u00a0 What would you do if your friend refused to talk to you because she felt angry about your matching outfits?<\/p>\n

It\u2019s important to be gentle\u2014no matter what.\u00a0 Remember to stay calm even when you feel so angry that you want to punch someone (don\u2019t tell me you\u2019ve never felt this way!).\u00a0 The outcome is always better when we stay calm and respond with gentleness.<\/p>\n

And now, back to the picture day fiasco.\u00a0 In situations like this, laughing about the issue can be the best way to ease the tension.\u00a0 Sometimes, what we need most is to lighten up and learn to laugh at ourselves!<\/p>\n

Talk About It:<\/h4>\n