Repeat, Repeat

I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me. Romans 15:15, NIV

When God is trying to cause movement and change in a life, he tends to repeat himself.

I grew up in a home with an alcoholic father who was constantly criticizing, yelling, and at times throwing things. When he raged, my mom would first try to calm him down, but sometimes she would get pulled into the shouting match herself. When they wanted to correct our behavior as children, they often yelled at us. I didn’t want to be a screaming mother, but at times of high stress, I would feel anger welling up inside me. Most of the time I control my desire to raise my voice; however, one day God repeated himself to get down to the core of my issue.

I went to the mailbox and pulled out a Christian women’s magazine with a lead article about handling anger. Then I walked into the house and flipped on the radio. The preacher’s text? “Do not let the sun go down on your anger.” Later, in a conversation I had with a friend, she talked about struggling with anger toward her spouse. Then I came home and my older sons began to yell down requests from their upstairs bedroom—breaking a family rule: When you want something from a parent, walk to the parent and ask—do not yell your request.

I then walked to the stair rail and yelled up the stairs, “Guys, you know I hate it when you yell. If you want something, come down here and ask!”

Then my little Caleb, a preschooler, tugged on my pant leg, and when I turned to face him, he said in his sweet little voice, “Mommy, I don’t think God likes it when you yell at us.” All the reminder roads converged into one intersection with a flashing yellow light. God had my attention.

Is God repeating a message in your life?