Day 2-Fighting Is For Losers

So, I got into a fight with my mom... Typical. I told her she was being used by the devil... Now, just as a pointer to secure your life expectancy and not cause a shorter life span, DON'T EVER TELL YOUR MOTHER SHE IS BEING USED BY THE DEVIL... It never turns out well... Honor your father and your mother, so that you MAY LIVE LONG in the land the Lord your God is giving you (Ex. 20:12). :) It's in the bible... God lays out that there is a possibility my mother might kill me if i keep it up! ;)

I'm kind of kidding.

We fight all the time; more than any of my other brothers and sisters. We are so much alike that it's really difficult to have conversations that don't end up in a rumble. Even though she is the woman that I most admire, it's hard to take her point of view into consideration. When she's right, she's right. When I'm right... she thinks she's right and vice versa. It's a vicious circle and throughout my life it has been a constant struggle.

When I was in middle school I hated my mother. Try not to think less of me. I was confused as a child. Remember? She embarrassed me in front of my friends... I mean, is there any worse sin than that as a tweenager? (Um... No.) Looking back on it, I have no idea why I didn't like her. As I grew, I got some perspective about life in general and the importance of having a parent as an ally.

When my parents decided to get a divorce after 23 years of marriage, Mom and I decided to be on the same side and I let the indiscretions of Mom being a mom go. I didn't mean to choose a side and I shouldn't have, but I did. Divorce is an ugly beast and it puts a damper on relationships between children and their parents. It's hard to recover from for everyone involved in the turmoil. He said, she said is real! Parents don't want their children to be in the middle of it, but it's a family issue and the entire family is drug through the mud. Mom did admirable in her fight to the finish of that marriage. She was always there for me when I felt betrayed and abandoned, with constant reminders that she loved me and I was her "favorite Bekah..." (Yes, I know that's cheating, but it was comforting.) She always had my best interest, as well as the best interest of her other "favorites" in her heart. I say it all the time: my mother is a saint among men.

Because of our bond, our fights now are not life threatening. They suck, don't get me wrong, but at the end of it my world isn't shattered. Recently, I have been using prayer to help me through them. "Please God, hold my tongue and don't let me say that thing that I know will hurt her the most (aka the devil comment)."

Crap... I'm still a work in progress OBVIOUSLY...

Mom, I'm sorry. I love you. Let's not fight anymore... Fighting is for losers... :)

Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs.-1 Corinthians 13:4-5.