Don't Get Hangry!

Editor’s Note: Devotions are for everyone from adults to small children! Did you know that kids’ devotionals are some of our most popular? Be sure to share this one with your young family member or friend and enjoy it yourself today!

*

We were made right with God by His grace. — Titus 3:7 ICB

It’s Saturday morning, and you snap at your sister for no reason, growl at the dog, and then flop on the couch because it’s raining and you can’t go outside. You’re just so angry! Suddenly, your stomach rumbles so loud that the dog barks. That’s when you remember that you forgot to eat breakfast. You’re not just angry; you’re hungry too. You’re hangry.

Hangry is more than just a bad attitude. There’s some real stuff going on in your body. One of those things has to do with energy. When you eat, your body turns the food into simple sugars to use for energy. So when you run low on energy, your brain thinks you’re in trouble. It sends out the “fight or flight” chemical called adrenaline (uh-DREN-uh-lin). Being hangry makes it harder to control your emotions, and you get upset about things that don’t usually bother you. What’s the cure?

• Eat something!

People sometimes act angry when there’s actually something else going on. Maybe they’re hungry or tired or worried about something. If a friend snaps at you for no reason, don’t snap back. Put yourself in their shoes. (I don’t mean snatch their sneakers. That would just make them angrier!) Ask yourself what else might be going on and how you could help. Offer to share a snack and listen. Give them a second chance. That’s called grace, and God gives you a whole bunch of it every day. Do the same and give others the same grace God gives you.

God, when others mess up, help me to give them grace — just like You give me grace when I mess up. Amen.

Explore the Wonder

We humans don’t like to go long without food. We can get hangry pretty quickly. But some animals can go weeks or even months without anything to eat. And then there’s the olm salamander. This cave-dwelling more than 10 years without eating any food at all!

Excerpted with permission from The Wonder of Creation by Louie Giglio, copyright Louie Giglio.

* * *

Your Turn

Don’t get hangry! No one wants to deal with the crabbiness that comes with not eating regularly and refueling our bodies! Teaching our kids that their emotions can be attached to blood sugar is a great conversation starter to talk about God’s incredible creativity, too! Be sure to share this devo with your young ones. Come share your thoughts with us. We want to hear from you! ~ Devotionals Daily