Becoming Angry

"Anger does not solve anything, 

it builds nothing. 

To be angry is to yield 

to the influence of Satan. 

No one can make us angry. 

It is our choice. 

If we desire to have a 

proper spirit with us at all times, 

we must choose to refrain 

from becoming angry. 

I testify that such is possible". 

Thomas S. Monson

I have had a lot of reasons to be angry this past year.  This really spoke to my heart and reminded me that anger is really a choice.  Not only that, but it only damages us on the inside.  I know that I don't like being angry.  I do not like the person that I become when I am angry.  I don't like the way I feel, or the way I behave.  Mostly, I don't like the way that I find even more ways to stay angry.  

I have never really been a stay angry kind of person until this past year.  I have always been the quick flash and it is over, type.  I explode all at once, and then it is finished and I go on.  Now, I find myself stewing in the juices of angry, like a very unhappy pot roast that has stewed so long it has lost its tenderness and become tough and nasty.  

I find myself in the position of needing to make different choices in my life.  I really am struggling with this one.  I don't think I have ever stayed angry for so long before.  So now, I find myself on my knees with a prayer in my heart for those who have done me wrong.  I find ways to remind myself that I am not perfect either, and that I never will be in this life.  

I am reminding myself that anger is a choice.  It is taking so much heart out of me and leaving me exhausted and overwhelmed.  

It is time to cast Satan out of my heart and welcome the love of the Savior back inside.  

I choose love.  I choose peace.  I choose joy.