By Pastor Brittany

Some wise person once told me (I’m not sure who, but they had to be wise) to choose my battles. Being that I hate confrontation in any form or fashion, this isn’t always a difficult idea for me to follow. If someone disagrees with you then let them have their opinion. Someone doesn’t like how you did something, take their advice and comments and respectfully move on. Someone just made you feel like nothing, pick your head up and hold it high or at least just pick it up and let it go. I pride myself in being able to choose my battles. I hate battles so it works for me.

That was until this cute little girl I know who happens to live in my house started becoming the strong, fierce girl I hoped she would be and turned four. Choose your battles. It’s not so easy now. This verse came to mind on the day of the Back to School Bash when I was without a babysitter and frantically trying to make sure the notes for my lesson were complete, work on laundry, do the dishes, enroll her in ballet class, fix lunch, feed the baby, rock her sister who was crying and cutting teeth, tend to the crying, gassy baby, meanwhile trying desperately to get stuff done so I could get to the church to help as much as I could possibly help with three kids.

Whether you’re a parent or not, we all have days like this where we have to make a choice to go to battle or not, a choice to let go of things that would cause disputes with others. It could be a boss who doesn’t show you respect or maybe a brother who belittles you. It could be a friend who says something hurtful or a person who is a little too honest about how they feel about you.

This verse stuck in my mind as I read Proverbs 17 because as many others did, I watched tv night after night during the month of May and gasped as I saw homes flooded, lives turned upside down and lives lost, children who have no history to show their future families because every photo, every heirloom was ruined by rain… lots and lots of rain. With those images in my head I imagine the damage that could take place by choosing not to let something go that in the long run isn’t worth disputing over.

In the wise words of Elsa (insert four year old singing voice here) “Let It Go,”