Managing ANGER

     Spring break is right around the corner, and man I tell you, I can't wait for the time off.  I'm sure my current schedule isn't as busy as alot of other people but, for me, it's pretty full.

       First, I'm a full-time husband with all of the duties that entails.  Then, I'm a full-time father of two boys ages six and four and part-time father of two adults, twenty and twenty-one and a teen-age daughter, fourteen(my kids from my previous marriage).  My sons, that live with me, are in two basketball leagues, t-ball, karate, soccer and football.  I make it to most of their practices and games but not all of them.  Next, I'm a full-time student.  That may not be a big deal, but at forty-one it's a challenge.  I haven't been in school since '87 and things have changed a bit, like, when did letters start appearing in math equations?  Not to mention that I'm not computer savvy and I get hung up on the most simple problems concerning computers like, I couldn't figure out how to use the "enter" function on my laptop when I first got it.  For almost an hour I fumbled around until I "accidentally" pressed the mouse pad and "voila" magic.

     Anyways, I have classes four days week from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. Monday thru Thursday.  This week I have finals, lots of studying, homework and due projects, then I have a substance abuse class on Tuesdays from 5:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. and Wednesdays from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m.  Did I mention that I'm on probation until 2012 and I have to give urinary samples four to five times a week, see my probation officer and a judge once a month and I do all of this on the bus system, which, compared to other metropolitan areas, is terrible.

     And now the courts have added an anger-management class to my schedule on Mondays from 5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. for twelve weeks.  Quite honestly, I believe I deal with anger better than most.  I will admit that, for a long time, I didn't deal with it in a healthy manner as I had a tendency to keep my feelings bottled up inside and then I would self-medicate.  My aunt pointed out that I would possibly "blow up and out" on the wrong person or situation if I didn't deal with issues that angered me.  That situation eventually played itself out in manifestations of physical confrontations with my current wife.
She had her own anger issues, which I was not aware of when we first dated.  Then she put her hands on me and Hell broke loose.  We've had several physical confrontations with me ending up in jail on one of those occasions.  I don't excuse my behavior in any way and I do regret responding to her attacks with violence of my own.  I can't take those days back.  However, it's been many years since the last episode and we have matured and grown together in our relationship.

     Today, our relationship is very strong.  And peaceful.  The reason for this is Jesus Christ.  In Him, we have peace.  Without Him, we had strife.  It's that simple.  Man, I feel a lot better now.  Like I said, I know alot of you have schedules that are way more hectic than mine.  Sometimes it feels good just to vent and get it out.  See, I told you I was dealing with issues better!