Confident Conversations

 Alyssa and Kyle--1998

"A hot-tempered man stirs up dissension, but a patient man calms a quarrel."  Proverbs 15:18

I realize that this post is somewhat similar to yesterdays, but hey, maybe it's what God is working on most in my children's lives.  Or mine.

I could tell that that Kyle was a little disturbed when he came home from school yesterday, and immediately sat down at the kitchen table and pulled out his homework.  With a big sigh he went to work.  When I asked him what was up, he said that he didn't understand the directions on an assignment and was having to redo it. Discouragement seeping through his words. 

In the same moment, I hear Alyssa exclaim that she kind of got "into it" with her Spanish teacher over some unaccepted extra credit she had worked on over the weekend. Alyssa felt unheard and discouraged in the end, but I was still impressed that she continued to press on and ask questions of her teacher.

Both kids were a little frustrated about their conversations.

We all have to face difficult conversations with people, and learning to not be afraid to stand up for ourselves, speak truth, ask questions, or dig deep in order to find understanding is highly important.  So, even now, they are learning how important good communication is.

Don't be afraid, kids, to have the hard conversations.  Sometimes the greatest things come out of those times.

Lord, you didn't make us to live in fear of one another.  You want to bring life and truth through our conversations together.  However, at the first sign of conflict or tense communications, we run and hide.  Help my children to learn the art of good communication.  I pray that they stand firm in their convictions, be willing to work through hard things, speak the truth in love, and even sometimes be able to hear the hard things.  Patience is a quality that reflects you, Jesus, but anger can cause much dissension.  Fill our conversations with your peace, truth, and love.