"Forgive me, Lord, for I have sinned". I'm not Catholic, but if I were, I would be sitting in a confessional at this very minute begging for the absolution of my soul. For today I broke one of the Ten Commandments and now must suffer with the guilt that I have brought down upon my head. Saying three
Hail Mary's' won't save this die-hard (or maybe I should say: hard-headed') Baptist; no, I must kneel beside my bed tonight and beg my Lord and Savior to forgive my transgressions and pray for strength to not let it happen again.
Yes, Searchwarpers, I have deceived you. Beneath that glowing, smiling, grandmotherly exterior beats the heart of (please forgive me) a
grumpy old woman'! Today I was shopping in Wal-Mart when my husband and I got into the Tabacco checkout lane with only about ten items. There was one person ahead of us and they went through quickly enough so I was confused when the lady behind me began to grumble to her (I assume husband) that they were never going to get out of this store today! She really flew off the handle when my husband asked for a pack of cigars and the clerk rang them up without running through our other purchases. I told the clerk that his cigars went with all the items on the counter. All the while, the lady behind me was grumbling about the clerk's incompetence just loudly enough for all around us to hear-including the poor clerk.
She fairly shouted at the clerk, "Why don't you ask the customers if that is all they have before you just ring up a single item?!!" By now the poor clerk was becoming so flustered that she couldn't get my debit card to ring up correctly.
The lady (I think here, is where I should start calling her the person') behind me, shoves her one large item forward on the counter and says, "I don't have a card, I have cash, I just want to pay for my purchase and get the h___ out of here!" Then, turns to her (husband) and says something about the old man and his cigars'-I didn't catch the rest, because that is where I lost my religion. And turned to her with what I know to be a very red face and steam rushing from my ears, as I politely told her through gritted teeth, "Just why don't you go find another line. The poor clerk is doing her best---give her a break!"
Now, I don't very often lose it' as they say, but I
am half Irish and do have certain buttons that even my husband knows well not to push. I am my mother's daughter and only a few times in many years did I see the tough-as-nails wild cat that lurked just beneath the surface of one of the most easy-going, happy-go-lucky, loving women you would ever want to meet. The only time I ever saw her lose her temper were occasions when her off-spring were threatened.
But, no matter my heritage or ancestry, my religion tells me that
anger is a sin and sin is what I did that day. I was still fuming when I left the store with my husband still wide-eyed and speechless with shock pushing the basket and trying to keep up with me. By the time I reached the car, I had calmed down and my blood pressure had returned to survival stage. That is when I realized what I had done and my heart sank. I felt such remorse that I looked around the parking lot to see if I could spot the lady that I had verbally' throttled in the store. I couldn't find her to apologize, so now I must go to church Sunday and make things right with God and pray that the lady will also forgive another
"Grumpy old woman."
Psalm 7:11 God is a righteous judge, a God who expresses his wrath every day.
Psalm 4:4 In your anger do not sin; when you are on your beds, search your hearts and be silent.
Psalm 30:5 Sing to the LORD, you saints of his; praise his holy name. For his anger lasts only a moment, but his favor lasts a lifetime; weeping may remain for a night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.
Psalm 37:8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret-it leads only to evil.
Psalm 145: 8-9 The LORD is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and rich in love. The LORD is good to all; he has compassion on all he has made.
Proverbs 14:17 A quick-tempered man does foolish things, and a crafty man is hated.
Proverbs 15:18 A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel.
Proverbs 16:32 Better a patient man than a warrior, a man who controls his temper than one who takes a city
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