Beware of the bear

This may totally be a woman thing, but have you ever gone into Mama Bear mode? That is when you immediately jump on the defensive to protect someone you care about who is being attacked. This seems to be happening to me a lot lately.

For example, two years ago on mission trip there was a woman serving with another church who was extremely unpleasant. She had a sour look on her face the whole week. Several times she gave dirty looks to our students and made smart comments. One afternoon at lunch she went over the line and began to fuss at a group of our students. I was standing behind her the whole time and her complaints were completely unfounded. I went crazy! I wanted to let her have it. Those are my kids and they didn't deserve a moment of her hassling. It was all I could do to hold myself back from telling her off.

Almost immediately, I ran to Bryan and told him that he had better address it before I had a chance to. No matter how crazy my kids may get or how badly they might get on my nerves sometimes, they are mine and you better leave them alone. Don't get me wrong, I would have been the first one to correct them if they had been out of line. I don't have much tolerance for that.

Lately, attacks have been coming left and right. (I am well aware that we have ruffled Satan's feathers with all the progress that is being made in our student ministry.) I know that Bryan is a big boy, but that doesn't stop me from going into Mama Bear mode. There have been many personal attacks made on him and his methods of ministry. No, things aren't always the way they could be and they are not always the way that we want them to be, but he does the best he can. It infuriates me when people accuse him of not caring and not doing his part. No one sits at my house and listens to the hours he talks on the phone with students, parents, volunteers, and contractors. No one sits with him as he cries over the hurts that our students face. No one else puts aside everything in their life to deal with the newest crisis being faced by a student or family.

My husband puts his heart and soul into this ministry 24 hours a day. He never turns work off. He never steps away completely from the needs of his ministry. Yes, that is very frustrating at times, but I understand his heart. When my limited time with my husband is interrupted by phones calls from disgruntled people, I can't help but get angry.

Bryan is a worrier. He takes every comment and complaint to heart. It makes me so angry when he comes home and he can't get past that attacking conversation. This sends me into Mama Bear mode and I want to have my turn at the offender. I can take a lot when the attack is aimed at me, but back off when it comes to those I love.

I think this is the motherly instinct in me. It is a protective mechanism. This is one more thing that God is using to teach me about control. I can't be in control of everything and I have to use self control. This is a tough one for me. I am working on it, but in the mean time...BEWARE OF THE BEAR!