growing pains

You know how when someone points out your mistake, your immediate reaction is defensiveness or denial? Well, that happened to me today. I was wrong, and someone pointed it out to me (in front of other people). My internal response was a mixture of embarrassment and annoyance. At first, I denied the charge, thinking that it was the other person's fault: that person overreacted and wrongly judged me. Then I began to rationalize my own behavior and blame the other person for something else they had done, all the while trying to shift the focus away from my own misdeed.

But, alas, part of being an adult is owning up to your wrongs. Even though my heart still burned with shame and resentment as I recalled the experience, I ultimately had to acknowledge that I was indeed wrong. And even though I didn't like being charged in front of other people, the grown-up part of me made my peace with the situation by choosing humility: I chose to focus on my mistake, repent, and vow not to do it again. *sigh* It's hard being an adult. :)