Dear Lord ...

Dear Lord,
Today I failed your test again.
I spoke angry words,
I hurt someone’s feelings.
In frustration, I escaped to my garden
and sat beneath a tree.
“O tree,” I whispered. “Do you ever get angry?”
I heard a rustle of leaves above me.
I saw a butterfly flit across the sky.
“O butterfly,” I whispered. “Do you ever get angry?”
It flew towards me and brushed against my arm.
If only they could both speak to me.
O Lord, will You teach me how to conquer this loathsome enemy
called Anger?