WEEK 25

Yesterday we had a really good Relief Society lesson in one of the wards I attend. We talked about triggers to anger or what are some of your "hot buttons." The sisters came up with a good list. Here's some of them:

-Being ignored
-Being disrespected
-Being hit
-Impatience or rushing
-Lack of sleep
-Pride
-Physical pain
-Kept waiting
-Assumptions
-Surprise behavior
-Bad drivers
-Expectations
-Falsly accused
-Emotional dig (get hurt emotionally)

The sister who gave the lesson mentioned three things to help us overcome anger or situations that leads to angry feelings.
First, acknowledge your anger. (If someone else is involed with the situation, tell the person that you are feeling angry right now).
Second, restrain your anger (If that person you just told about your anger is still there with you, don't vent to that person or get mad at that person).
Third, (after the angry moment has cooled off) when talking with that person to work out the problem or situation, use the word "I" instead of "you." (That helps reduce feelings of hostility between the parties involved)

At the end of the lesson, we got a list of "Emergency Scriptures." That's my favorite part that I would like to share with you. Whenever you are feeling angry or if you ever get in a situation where these feelings arise, look up:

Proverbs 16:32
Ephesians 4:31-32
James 1:19-20
3 Nephi 11:29-30

Did you know that in the New Testament where it talks about the Savior's wrath at the temple because the people were doing things that they weren't supposed to in the House of God, the word "WRATH" actually means a "frustrated sigh."
I know that if we could all turn our anger into a frustrated sigh, there would be less hurt feelings and more love at home and in this world.

May I say that I am grateful for patient companions and roommates that render frustrated sighs at me. That helps me know how much they love me and it also helps me change myself so that I won't make them sigh frustrated sighs at me again =)

Often, a mission isn't just about the investigators and the work. A huge part about missions that we often forget is really...THE MISSIONARIES. How much we learn and grow together from this wonderful experience. It's true that sometimes, the missionaries grow more than their investigators do!