"Whoever is slow to anger has great understanding, but he who has a hasty temper exalts folly." -Proverbs 14:29 (ESV)

I'm not sure if that verse hurts as much for anyone else as it did for me this week. Life has been a bit overwhelming lately and I have had more than one occasion recently in which I have "exalted folly." However, I have learned how humbling of an experience it can be to apologize to your child for raising your voice, moments after instructing them to not raise theirs. 

The tricky thing about anger is you don't really plan for it. It seems to come in an instant, you exalt a little folly, then the moment is gone. Proverbs 14:29 tells us though, that to be slow to anger is to have "great understanding."  We can understand that anger is and will be part of life. We can understand that, while we don't always plan on being angry, we can prepare for it. We can prepare for it by preparing our hearts to have peace in those situations. We can prepare for it by remembering that we serve a God who is slow to anger and who wants us to be like Him.

"But you, Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in love and faithfulness." -Psalm 86:15