Ellen Chauvin | Soaked & Sprouting

Soaked in God's Word, Sprouting Seeds of Faith

The Angry Weed Eater

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The noise of the weed eater wasn’t the gentle, rhythmic sound I was accustomed to. The weed eater was struggling against overgrown weeds. It sounded frustrated. Angry even. 

Maybe it was because of what I had told my hubby earlier. 

“Honey, instead of watching the neighbors work on their project, you could actually get something done at our house. Like mow the lawn and weed eat.” 

Maybe my tone wasn’t sugar sweet, but he looked at me like I had accused him of being – oh, I don’t know – lazy, maybe?

I went inside to finish up some other things while he did the yard work. That’s when my thoughts began to roam free. There were no boundaries where they went. I imagined John angry at me for bossing him around. I imagined he was seething because I had told him what to do on his weekend off. Then I heard the weed eater.

“Huh! I knew he was mad at me. I can tell by the sound of the weed eater!”

Bellingrath Gardens and Home, Theodore, AL

The weed eater sound? Really Ellen??

Goodness, it’s no wonder scripture tells us to take our thoughts captive. I couldn’t have been more wrong. Turns out, John was not mad at all! The weed eater, on the other hand, may have been a bit cranky at having to work…

But my husband was responding in love and getting things done around the yard.

“Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” 1 Corinthians 13:7 ESV

Love believes all things. It believes the best of others. It believes the goodness of others. 

What I saw was love in action. What I believed was the silly sound of imagined anger from a weed eater. What I should have believed was that love would win the day, not a piece of angry lawn equipment!

When have your thoughts and emotions run astray? How do you bring them back to reality and truth?

Father, I thank you that we have your Word to show us truth. I thank You that when emotions run amok, we can turn to You and with Your power, we can capture our thoughts and bring them into obedience to You. Praise You Lord God for guiding us! In Jesus name, Amen

Grace be with you,

Ellen

PS – Happy 26th anniversary to my sweet weed eating, grass mowing hubby!

 

Mini-Pause Moment

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Ephesians 4:26 (NKJV): “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath.

To all my sisters in Christ: have you ever wondered if you were a child of God or a Menopause Monster (MM)? Have you ever had one of those days when you read the scriptures on anger, and just IGNORE them? Have you ever been mentally punching air – just to punch something? Yeah, me too!

My husband would tell you that I have been MM lately – and I’m not talking about the sweet candy we all love! The lady at the car dealership would say the same thing about me! Here’s my story:

A few days ago at 5 p.m., I jumped into my car – READY to go home. It was one of those intensely hot days, when you can see the heat shimmering off the road.  But not to worry! The a/c in my little Altima was a WORKHORSE! My car would be cooled down in no time!  Good thing, because the temperature reading was above 100! As I drove down the road, I noticed the air was still hot. And as I turned onto the main highway, I knew there was a problem. I began pushing all the buttons – power, a/c, vent – in hopes of “resetting” the air conditioner.  Sweat was breaking out on my forehead and in my pits. When I got to a side street, I even turned my CAR off and then back on.  NOTHING…but hot air!

I did what I always do when I have car trouble – I called my sweet husband. Now, I KNEW he wouldn’t be able to help, since he was out of town. But he IS my go-to guy on all matters automotive.

John: “Hello.”

Me: “Honey, the a/c in my car is NOT WORKING! It’s just blowing hot air!”

John: “Darlin’, there’s nothing I can do about it from here. You’ll just have to call the dealership in the morning.”

Me, through clenched teeth: “I REALIZE you can’t do anything. I just wanted you to KNOW what was going on!”

There is nothing like a hormonal, menopausal hot flash to bring anger bubbling to the surface. And what is the quickest thing to cause a hot flash? Yes, HEAT!  I was steaming all the way home – physically and mentally!

By the next morning, I had calmed down somewhat (it took that long), and in my quiet time I read the scriptures on anger.  Wow, was I convicted! Later, as I was driving to the dealership to have my car serviced, I had the sun roof open, the windows down, and KLOVE was blaring on the radio!

When I arrived, the young woman in the service department explained that they would drive me to work and pick me up at 4 p.m. to bring me home. I knew that I couldn’t leave work at 4:00, so I told her I would bring my car in tomorrow, when my husband could drive me. And that’s when she said it. THOSE WORDS.

“We are pretty booked up tomorrow; we may not be able to take your car.” WHAT?  In this heat, you can’t quickly check the a/c on my car??

I flew off the handle, and let her know in no uncertain terms that I would bring my car in tomorrow, and they had better fix it! I haven’t even had the car a year and the air conditioning was out!  It needs to be FIXED!

She was very kind, and kept saying “I understand. I understand.” And I kept spewing.

Funny thing: if she had gotten into my car and heard the music, she would have thought “This lady listens to Jesus music, but she sure doesn’t act like Him!”

Can you relate? If so, what’s a daughter of the King supposed to do?

The first thing I should have done was to recognize my anger for what it was: sin. Anger becomes sinful when it is motivated by pride or is allowed to linger. Zodhiates Word Study Dictionary describes wrath in Ephesians 4:26 this way: “an aroused anger or seething exasperation. Such anger is contrary to the Spirit and Word of God.” Ouch! Seething exasperation described me exactly!

Recognizing my anger as sin, I should have then surrendered the situation to God.  But I did not. I chose to cling to my anger. I wallowed in it, and let it linger. Obviously the wrong choice!

As I continue my walk with the Lord through these hormonal days (weeks, months, years???), I will remember that apart from Him, I can do nothing. And with Him, all things are possible – even surrendering my prideful anger!

Heavenly Father, I praise You as El Roi, the God who sees me.  You see all my imperfections and accept me just as I am.  Yet You love me enough to want me to change! Thank You! Lord, I lift ALL my 50-something friends to You, and pray that You will strengthen us as we navigate this new season in our lives. In the powerful name of Jesus, Amen.DSCN0021Old Faithful – right before she spews!