Coyote’s Fan

“Be ye angry, and sin not: let not the sun go down upon your wrath: Neither give place (opportunity) to the devil.”

Ephesians 4:26-27

When Rebekah and I first started dating, my cousin gave us Phoenix Coyotes hockey tickets. The seats were close to the ice, and we had a great vantage point of the action. The game went into overtime and the Coyotes pulled it out for the win. We cheered as the Coyotes lit the red light, and we high-fived everyone around us and became instant friends with strangers. I was already a fan on the Coyotes, and Rebekah was sold after watching that game. We used to attend about eight games each season until we could no longer get coupons for tickets. We religiously watched the Coyotes, and our hearts sunk when they disappointed us like most Arizona teams often do.

Rebekah and I had our ups and downs in the first few years of marriage, and when we were not blissfully in love, we were fighting like cats and dogs. We were stubborn and selfish and each sought our own way. I was the instigator most of the times, and I would try to sleep on the couch to prove how mad I was, but Rebekah would come and get me. I was foolish in my thinking, and I was too prideful and stubborn to admit I was wrong. I can’t explain why I was like this, but I am grateful we were committed as I am not sure we would have survived those years without commitment. The fights were not worth the time we gave them, and there were many times when we both went to bed angry with each other. The sun was long set and rage still burned inside me as I tried to go to sleep. At that time, I had to get up early in the morning, and the late nights only made things worse.

We got into a doozy one night and we were both fit to be tied. Rebekah got so mad at me that she slammed our bedroom door on me, and locked the door behind her. I tried the knob and it sure enough, it was locked. I got so angry and in my anger, I punched the door and my fist went right through it. In that split second, my heart sank and I felt like a big fool. I was playing Wreck-it-Ralph within my own home, and my anger was now going to cost me some money. I realized my foolishness, and Rebekah and I soon made up, but there was still a big hole in our bedroom door.

I had the bright idea to simply switch the toilet closet door with the bedroom door. I did all the disassembly, only to learn that the bathroom door was about 16 inches smaller than our bedroom door. I thought long and hard and decided to use a Coyotes poster I had hanging in our workout room. Anytime we had guests over to the house, they always mentioned that we must have been huge Coyotes fans in order to have their poster on our bedroom door, We laughed at that comment because we knew of the hole that hid behind that poster. Although we were Coyotes fans, the poster was there merely to hide the result of my anger and it served as a reminder to me of my foolishness.

Where are you today friend? Do you have an anger problem? Do you allow the “sun to go down upon your wrath” – do you hold onto anger and grudges? Are you quick to realize the error of your way or do you stand firm in your pride and stubbornness? Do you try to hide your anger behind a smile or do you confess your anger to God? God is not pleased when we sin in our anger, and we often damage relationships in our anger rampage. Matthew 5:9 states, “Blessed are the peacemakers: for they shall be called the children of God.” May we quickly make things right with God and others when we get angry, and may we not let the sun go down upon our wrath.