Grace Filled Marriage by Dr. Tim Kimmel

Author:Dr. Tim Kimmel
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Worthy Publishing

Sock It to Me

Sometimes the problem is a point of contention over a behavior in our spouse that in the bigger picture isn’t worth making into a major issue. I like the way Scripture nails this home: “Good sense makes one slow to anger, and it is his glory to overlook an offense” (Proverbs 19:11 ESV).

Two different “socks” stories make this point. First, meet Kay and Mike. I’m going to let Kay tell this story in her own words:

When our girls were very young, we were running on little sleep, and Mike was working long hours trying to provide for us. This was one of the most stressful times in our marriage. When Mike came home, his feet usually hurt. The thing he couldn’t wait to do was get out of his shoes and socks. But I was constantly annoyed by the fact that he would often leave his dirty socks lying around … on the floor in the entryway, wedged between the couch cushions, in the bathroom, even once on the kitchen counter. I told him how much I hated it when he left his socks lying around, but he continued to do it. And to be fair, it was never out of maliciousness. He’d just take off his shoes as soon as he got home from work, and the socks ended whereever.

What started out as an annoying habit grew into a source of bottled rage for me. I started to see it as a personal affront to my hard work to keep the house clean. This became the pathway to anger in other ways for me. All of a sudden, it wasn’t just the socks. He didn’t do dishes often enough, he didn’t take out the trash often enough, he didn’t help me with the kids enough or offer to make dinner when he had to see how tired I was.

I shared my frustration in my Bible study group. My Bible study leader asked me if I prayed for Mike every day. Honestly, I was too busy caring for the kids to even shower every day, let alone have a few moments to myself to pray for Mike! Plus, I was angry at him. Part of me didn’t want to pray for him.

Still, this gentle admonishment kept niggling at my mind. So, I started praying for Mike. Little by little God began to soften my heart toward him. God started to remind me why I loved him. Incidentally, I should add that my husband is a kind, loving, hardworking, faithful man who is head over heels in love with me. He is smart, innovative, and brave. In every way that really matters, he is and always was a good man. God started to point out these greater qualities to me.

One day, after a particularly long night with the girls, I was starting to clean up the morning messes. Of course, there under the coffee table was a pair of Mike’s dirty socks. I started to feel the familiar anger creeping up in me.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.