Once there lived a boy named Timmy. He was a good boy for the most part and really tried his best to be well-behaved, but Timmy had a terrible problem. Every time things didn’t go his way, Timmy began to throw a terrible temper tantrum – he just couldn’t control his temper!
One day, for example, Timmy’s little sister Theresa ate the last cookie that was supposed to be for him. He was so mad that he began to yell at poor Theresa.
“That was MY cookie, you little brat! You already had one while I haven’t had a single treat all day!”
“But I didn’t know that cookie was supposed to be for you!” Theresa tried to explain, but it was to no avail. Timmy would go on violently berating his little sister until Mother came in the room and put a stop to the whole situation.
Almost daily occurrences like this were how Timmy earned the unfortunate nickname of Temper-Tantrum-Timmy.
Poor Timmy wasn’t very proud of this nickname or his awful behavior, so he finally decided to put an end to it.
“I don’t want to go on this way giving into my terrible temper tantrums all the time,” Timmy thought, “so I’m going to do something about it. I decide right now that I am never going to become angry again. The next time things don’t go my way, I am going to remain perfectly calm.”
Well, Timmy didn’t have to wait long for things to not go his way. In fact, the very next night after Timmy had decided to overcome his anger, the neighbor’s dog started barking so loudly that Timmy could not sleep. He felt his anger rise up so quickly that the next thing he knew he had flung open the window and begun yelling at the irrational beast. Timmy’s mother quickly ran into the room and calmed him down.
Poor Timmy! He wanted so badly to be good, but it was so hard!
After a discouraging night, Timmy awoke the next morning with a newfound determination. “Alright,” Timmy thought to himself, “I need a better plan. The next time I feel myself getting angry, I’m going to take some deep breaths and not say a single word until I calm down.” Timmy was sure his plan would work this time, but he was in for another disappointment.
Only a few minutes after his new resolution, Timmy’s two little brothers came bursting into his room chasing each other and laughing as loudly as they could.
“Would you guys GET OUT OF HERE!” Timmy screamed at the top of his lungs, “I am trying to do something very important and you both just distracted me. Go away!”
Another failure followed by more disappointment. Timmy was feeling rather discouraged and hopeless at this point.
“Why is it so hard to control my temper? It seems that the harder I try the more quickly I fail. It just seems impossible to be good, and I really feel like giving up.”
Just then Timmy’s mother walked into his room. She was a good and holy mother who knew that Timmy wanted to be good.
“I love you, Timmy,” she began, “but we have got to work on your temper – you cannot keep yelling and throwing a tantrum every time things don’t go your way!”
“But Mother!” Timmy protested, “I HAVE been trying to work on my temper, but nothing seems to help. I resolve to be good and patient and take deep breaths and not say anything until I calm down, but there is just nothing that I can do. I am cursed with a terrible temper, and this is just how things are going to be for the rest of my life. Nothing I can do has the power to overcome this fault.”
Timmy’s Mother listened intently. She paused for a second before replying, “Well, there certainly is one thing that has the power to overcome your faults. It’s something that I didn’t hear you mention in your efforts at all.”
“What is it?” Timmy wanted to know.
“It is prayer! Timmy, it’s good and important to resolve to overcome your faults. It is an admirable thing to come up with a plan to remain calm and patient when things don’t go your way. But all of that must come second to prayer. With God, all things are possible; without Him, you can do nothing. You have to pray, Timmy, and ask Almighty God to help you overcome your faults. You learned in your catechism that nothing is hard or impossible to Him, and you also know from the Bible that He said to ask and you shall receive. The only thing that remains, then, is simply to ask God to help you to be good. He will certainly do it if only you ask!”
Timmy sat in silence for a moment. All this time he had been trying so hard to be good, and he hadn’t even thought of asking for God’s help!
“What prayers should I say?” he asked his mother.
“Here is a simple one – ‘Jesus, meek and humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto Thine.'”
Timmy went to bed that night repeating this little prayer over and over again. His new resolution was to say this prayer the next time things didn’t go his way and he started to become angry.
And do you know what happened? The very next morning when Timmy came running down the stairs for breakfast he tripped on Theresa’s doll that she had left laying on the steps. He instantly felt his old foe begin to rise up inside of him. Poor Theresa stood at the bottom of the steps staring at Timmy waiting for the outburst. But Timmy simply picked up Theresa’s doll and calmly handed it to her without saying a word. Theresa was in shock as Timmy strolled to the breakfast table and took his seat.
Later on that day, Mother asked Timmy about the incident. “It was very strange, Mother,” Timmy explained, “I wanted to be angry and yell at Theresa for leaving her doll on the steps, but just when I was about to start yelling, I felt something inside of me that I have never felt before. It seemed like Someone much stronger than me came into my soul and beat back my anger. I think I received a grace from saying that little prayer you taught me.”
“I think I agree,” Timmy’s mother happily replied.
Timmy never forgot that little prayer, “Jesus meek and humble of Heart, make our hearts like unto Thine!” He repeated it every day, especially when he began to feel angry. He still occasionally lost his temper, but he was never discouraged because he now knew how to fight it. Timmy stopped relying on his own methods so much and instead turned more to prayer. And that is how, eventually, Temper-Tantrum-Timmy grew up to become Temperate-Timothy.
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