The Angry Eyebrows

My children have a movie they like to watch, Veggie Tales Larry Boy and The Angry Eyebrows. 

This is our family's episode of The Angry Eyebrows. 

It had been that kind of week.  I didn't feel well.  I was tired.  I was grumpy.  I just wanted to go back to bed...for the week. 

I was listening to my children arguing over and over again.  They weren't even arguing about anything in particular, they were just yelling at each other. 

As I watched them, I looked at their normally cute faces and I saw a bunch of angry eyebrows.  Each one of them had their own pair of the angriest eyebrows I ever seen.

What is going on?

Then, when I had listened to it long enough, I spoke in a soft, kind, loving voice and asked them sweetly to stop. 

Oh wait...that's not what happened. 

I had angry eyebrows!

I was so frustrated with their arguing that I stood up, put on my own angry eyebrows and told them to get along. 

Wow, that was convincing.  I'm sure they will listen this time. 

Nope.

It made me think... How many times have I been wearing my angry eyebrows while telling my children to take off theirs?

It made me realize how much my children learn from me.  It made me realize how much they imitate me.  I have created little versions of the very things about me I don't like.

Time to change! 

Time for kindness to flood our house.

It is my daily prayer that God will soften my voice.  That God will place only kind words on my tongue.  That God will hold my tongue if kindness is not going to be spoken. 

It is my daily prayer that I will not break my precious children's loving spirits with my angry eyebrows.