“I find gratitude to be the best antidote to swelling anger. In the past I’ve tried naming the things I’m supposed to: family, friends, health. I am thankful for all those things, but sometimes the rote list seems ineffective. It is tempting to believe I somehow deserve all those things. (I’m healthy because I eat right and exercise. I have friends because I’m a good friend in return. And so on.)…
I have learned I cannot offer genuine mercy and grace to others if I haven’t gratefully accepted it from God first. So when I feel anger rising or note its ongoing presence, I make a simple plea: Mercy and grace to me. Mercy and grace from me. A burden is always lifted.”
Sarah Kehrberg, author and frequent contributor to Mennonite World Review, from a column titled “Antidote to Anger” posted on 3 March 2014 and brought to my attention by Rebekah Burch Basinger.
This is going to be my new centering prayer when I feel like wringing someone’s neck for wronging me: “Mercy and grace to me. Mercy and grace from me.” How true is this! Only after we realize all God has extended to us, none of which we deserve, can we become generous conduits of mercy and grace. I have a lot to learn in this area. “Mercy and grace to me. Mercy and grace from me.”