David and Jonathan were two young soccer-loving friends; they both held each other in high esteem but David had constant outbursts of anger. One day, while they were playing soccer on the same team, Jonathan got distracted for a few seconds and made a bad move that affected the final score of the game. David felt very angry about losing and without thinking about it, he ran to Jonathan and yelled at him, insulting him for being the guilty one.
Back home, David thought about what he had said to his friend and felt very sad. When he arrived, his father noticed the anguish on his face and asked him: - "What's the matter son, did you lose?" David nodded and added: - "yes dad, but that wasn't the worst thing... I let myself be carried away by anger and without thinking, I insulted and cursed Jonathan, my best friend".
The gentleman, who already knew very well his son's problem, told him: - "I'm going to help you control all that anger and help you know a little more about the value of friendship", he took his son to the back yard of the house, gave him a bag of nails and a hammer and told him: - "every time you lose your temper you have to come here and drive a nail into this fence".
The first few days David hammered over 30 nails, but he gradually calmed down because he found it was easier to control himself than hammering nails. Finally, one day he told his father: - "I've done it", the Lord congratulated him and answered: - "now, every time you manage to control yourself come and pull out a nail from the fence"; he did so and the day came when David had managed to remove all the nails, so he ran to tell his father very proudly. -He did so and the day came when David had managed to remove all the nails, so he ran to tell his father very proudly, "Look, son, you have done very well, but look at all the holes left in the fence, it will never be the same as before... when you say or do things in anger you leave a scar like this hole in the fence
David then understood all the damage he had done not only to Jonathan, his friend but to so many people like his mom, his brothers, his classmates... and from then on, he learned to control his impulses and improved not only his character but also his relationships with others.
Friends are a gift from God, let's not allow anger to make us hurt those we love the most. In these times let us pray for true friends.
