The Need for Families to Slow Down
The Following is an Excerpt out of our Book, Angry Without a Cause (Click Here to Order).
I have been a Christian for sixteen years. I habitually read my Bible. I love my family. I pray, fast (I better be careful, I’m starting to sound like a Pharisee), and attend church regularly. Even so, if I get horrendously busy, I’m still tempted to get annoyed at anyone (as I stated in the last chapter) that becomes a HUMAN SPEED BUMP in my path.
May I ask you a question? Which is easier to stop: a car traveling ten miles per hour or a car traveling seventy-five miles per hour? Which one will produce MORE FRICTION when it’s forced to come to a screeching halt? What’s more, if a collision occurs, which one will cause more DAMAGE to the OBSTACLES that it runs into?
At times in our marriage, my “car” has been traveling seventy-five miles per hour. Consequently, from time to time, I have had the tendency to view my wife and my family as mere speed bumps or obstacles in my path to success. Thanks be to God that He has slowly seen fit to teach me that my wife and children are not just obstacles in my quest to win in life, but actually the prize!
During our Family Emphasis Sundays and Family Crusades, I almost always share the story of the TV show that paid a few families to live out in the middle of Montana without any modern conveniences whatsoever. The families had no TV, no electricity, no running water, and no video games. They were to live as people did in the 1800’s.
After the few months in Montana, it was amazing to read how the experience positively affected the families that were involved. Listen to an excerpt from an article that I found in Better Homes and Gardens that explains the effect this experience had on one of the families involved in this experiment:
“At its best, living in one-room log cabins knit families together. ‘My mom was like my best friend in the whole world,’ says Erin Patton, 12, who, back home in Tennessee, finds it easier to play more-and squabble less-with her 9-year-old brother, Logan. Her mom, Karen Glenn, isn’t surprised by the change. ‘On the frontier, there was no telephone, no TV, no computer, and no Play Station,’ says Karen. ‘We would wake up together, clean together, work together, and laugh together. We survived because we did everything together.’ Karen, a registered nurse, admits it’s difficult to re-create that experience back at home. Still, she tries. ‘Take a night to turn off the TV and unplug the phone,’ she counsels. ‘Even if there’s no conversation and everyone just sits quietly or falls asleep. To bring the focus back to the family requires saying no to diversions.’” (source: Better Homes and Gardens, June 2002)
How fast is your “car” traveling? Do you often find yourself running over your wife, your children, your co-workers, and your friends? Are their backs full of “tread marks” from your emotional outbursts and unexpected tantrums? If so, you may need to start learning how to say “no to diversions.” . . .
Watch this Short Video to See if Your Marriage May be Caught in the Cycle of Resentment and Anger
To Order our Audio Cd Series called How to Break the Cycle of Resentment and Anger in Your Marriage, Click Here.
