Good to KnowNäide

Have you ever been so frustrated with something in your life that you took out your frustration and anger on someone else? I got a cold once, right at the end of the weekend, and I was stressed about missing school, worried about the cross-country race that was quickly coming up and feeling awful to top everything off. Through all that frustration and stress, I didn’t realize how poorly I treated my family. Even though they had done nothing wrong, I took my anger out on them. But God doesn’t tell us to let all of our anger and frustration distract us from showing kindness; God tells us to love others as ourselves. This means putting ourselves in the place of others and imagining how they might feel before saying something unkind. It might mean taking a few deep breaths or even shifting our focus to the brighter parts of our day and thinking about what we are grateful for instead of the things we are frustrated by. Remember, everyone is special and loved, and God wants us to treat each other that way!

The next time you feel so frustrated or angry that you want to say something that could be hurtful, remind yourself to love your neighbor as yourself. You can memorize it, write it down, or say it out loud. Just remind yourself that no matter what you’re going through, God loves all of us and wants us to show that love to each other.

Written by Danielle, age 14, from Burke, Virginia, USA