Ask Jessie / Recently my dad has been punishing me for no good reason. My mom says it’s out of frustration, because he has a lot of pressure on him right now. I’m trying to be Christ-like but I’m just so mad! Advice would be appreciated!

I can definitely relate to your dilemma. It’s hard for us girls to understand—especially as daughters—why men are so affected by stress at work. I won’t pretend to have it figured out, but I’m starting to see now that I’m married that even the most wonderful, godly men can get totally stressed out by what’s going on at the office. Of course, just knowing that doesn’t make it any easier when you’re getting yelled at or punished for seemingly no good reason. But if we’re sensitive to that, we can sense when daddy is on the edge of loosing it, and we can be more careful not to push any buttons that might set him off for no reason.

I’m proud of you for even “trying to be Christ-like.” It’s not easy when you feel like a parent is being totally unfair! But I think that’s the point. It’s actually pretty easy to fake being Christ-like when everything is going our way, when we can see the reason why people act the way they do, or when there aren’t any waves on the horizon. But to love someone even when they aren’t lovable, to honor a parent even when they’re being unfair—now THAT’S being like Jesus! So as hard as it is, see this time that your dad seems to be totally unfair as an opportunity to grow in your faith, to show God how much you love HIM by doing what He asks of you even when it’s really stinkin’ hard! ;-)

Love,

Jessie

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