Blowing off Steam!

     How cool is this picture? As a young boy I dreamed of riding on a steam locomotive. At one point I think I even wanted to be a train when I grew up.  Why? Because I thought it was so cool that all this white smoke came out of the sides and smoke stack. I first fell in love with steam locomotives when my family took a trip to Silverado and Pergatory, Colorado. We got to ride the steam engine from Pergatory to Silverado. As the train came into the station it began to blow smoke. There was a strong wind coming from behind which blew the smoke in front of the train. It was like a cloud had descended around the train and provided this mystery of what was to come. I was amazed by the beauty and awesomeness of the steam. As it so happened we had taken the last train of the day and so to my surprise and great thrill I got to watch the blow down. A blow down is where at the end of the day the train engineer builds up a lot of pressure in the boiler and then releases a valve that blows out the boiler in order to get rid of all the debris that could harm the cylinder head. There is a danger when this happens. If you happen to be walking by when the engineer does this the steam could burn your skin, blind you, cause boils on your skin, make your skin melt...I think you get the point before I say more and have to put a parental guide rating on this blog.
     I was reading in Proverbs today and read, "A fool gives FULL vent to his spirit, but a wise man quietly holds it back." I would like to think that I am the wise man in this story, but too often I am more like the fool giving full vent. The problem with having a "blow down" is too many people are walking by when it happens and they get burned. However, instead of letting off steam a little at a time in order to forgo the catastrophic event, I tend to blow up and out potentially damaging every relationship around me.
     As Christians we are to show love, joy, gentleness, kindness and peace to others. Recently I blogged about someone who I found irritating and who had done some things that made my "steam" build up. Instead of going to the Lord to ask him to handle the situation I went to several other people and had a "blow down". The problem with that is now people see me as the hot headed fool that brings BIG drama. Instead of handling the situation with kindness and gentleness and being wise, I now look the fool. As a result of my "blow down"s I'm afraid that others may have a negative opinion of this person. I certainly don't want that. In spite of my clashes with this person he has a good heart and a faith that exceeds mine.
     So forgive me. And I ask you - if you ever see me having a "blow down" ask me if I've blown some steam off with the Lord first.