Trading Anger for Compassion

I read this verse in a devotional book last night and was so convicted by it.

Psalm 78:38
But He, being full of compassion, forgave their iniquity,
And did not destroy them.
Yes, many a time He turned His anger away,
And did not stir up all His wrath.

I have not had a successful week with turning my anger away and being full of compassion with my children. I know two factors (at least) have contributed to this: 1. my pregnancy hormones and fatigue and 2. my lack of a "normal" schedule this week. I'm so schedule-oriented (and so is my firstborn!) that when our schedule is shaky or non-existent, I'm much more likely to be impatient and frustrated with myself and my boys. I realize in particular that when I don't have my normal time of being focused on the boys, especially Josiah, we both suffer. That's one of the wonderful things about Learning Time--not only is Josiah grasping a ton of knowledge and experience, he's also being nurtured by me as we spend that time together. Because of my personality, I'd much rather sit and read a book with him or do some pages in a workbook together or do an experiment or something along those lines (where I'm basically giving my full attention to him), rather than be interrupted constantly by endless choruses of "Mommy, watch me catch this balloon!"..."Mommy, where is the red car?"..."Mommy, David's touching my paper!"..."Mommy, do you want to see me race these trucks?" That can drive me absolutely crazy in a very short amount of time! I should have learned by now that the day usually goes much more smoothly if I give Josiah some time and attention fairly early in the day; that seems to fill up that part of his love tank and helps his engine run better all day long.

The bottom line though is that my character needs to change to be so much more like God's. After all, if anyone has a good reason for being impatient/frustrated/angry, etc., it's Him! And yet, He forgives...turns his anger away...and is full of compassion. What a God! What a Father! What an example!