A soft answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. Proverbs 15:1

     My wife, Christine, and I recently drove to visit our grandchildren (and their parents!) in Des Moines, Iowa. The trip usually takes about 16 hours by car. I look forward to these trips because it gives Chris and me a great deal of time together to talk and share without significant interruption. But have you ever noticed that the other side of each blessing is often a curse?
     Sixteen hours with my wife in the car is great – unless we have an altercation! Then, there’s no place to run and I can only keep silent for so long. It was a innocent comment I made about her anxiety in heavy traffic as we skirted the city of St. Louis, Missouri. That off-hand comment was less than humorous to Chris and, when she responded, I did not have the wisdom to let it go but had to reply. And one thing led to another and the innocent comment became so much more than that.
     There are people who think that the Bible has nothing really to do with real life. I wished they could ride with me and my wife and repeat this proverb, out loud with regularity! They’d soon see that the wisdom of the Scriptures is revealed when it is applied directly to real life relationships.
     It was my fault, really. I should have been more sensitive to the fact that I was driving and so I had a degree of control in that heavy traffic that my passenger didn’t have. All she could do was cringe and the shifting tide of vehicles swirling around our car. At least I could react.
     More than simply not having made my “innocent” comment, I should have memorized the above proverb and not responded with my own retort. A soft answer sure would have been handy. As it was, I found an apology, well placed, is almost as good.
     I think I’m going to give up my need for having the last word in things. Or, at the least, practice the spiritual art of the “soft answer.”       What about you? 

Lord Jesus, help me grow in my ability to be soft in my answers instead of adding to the hurt and anger of so many situations. Amen.