Aggression is a far cry from the wisdom found in these
words: "Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a
multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8 Perhaps the first step we can take to love
each other, especially in conflict, is to understand the difference between
aggression and vulnerable strength. Aggression is an intent to prove you are
right… at all costs, while vulnerable strength is seeing the bigger picture.
What is the other person feeling? What caused this? What will be most important
once the dust settles?" Thank you Suzie Eller for your wisdom and these
insightful questions that will help us love each other deeply…
I saw this on Facebook this morning and I actually took a
deep breath; because this past week has been a true challenge to me both
physically and emotionally.
On Thursday the 16th of January my husband had surgery
on his elbow. He is unable to do even the basic essentials for himself.
His entire arm, from the shoulder to the hand
is wrapped with gauze; there is a hard fiberglass form fitting brace keeping
his (entire) arm immobilized, this is wrapped with a soft dressing, an ace
bandage covers all of this and then a sling.
All of my husband’s normal daily tasks now need my help.
All the chores and tasks we normally shared I do myself;
like taking care of Lizzy Bell and cleaning up after dinner (lunch and breakfast!)
But the most difficult of all is the outside
chores that he did. Most importantly the outside wood furnace that needs. . . the
ash shoveled out, the hot embers raked, the water monitored, and loaded with
logs twice a day, every day! These are not your normal fireplace logs, these
are logs that were cut to fit the interior 4 foot by 4 foot furnace that heats
our house and provides us with hot water. The second day I singed my hair, not
from the fire but from the excessive heat. I learned (very quick!) to wear a
hat with my hair tucked up inside and large enough to cover my eyebrows!
Other chores my husband always did was
shovel. . . warm up and clean off the car. . . the garbage. . . load and bring in the
groceries. . . and running all the little errands like going to the post office or to
the pharmacy, I could go on and on and on! All the while I still have the things I
normally do, which he doesn’t seem to remember that I actually have chores I
need to do; maybe the towels and sheets keep themselves clean, and the dogs feed themselves? I won't list the numerous others, as most homemakers will understand.
This brings me back to the (above) picture that I saw on
Facebook because I was finding myself experiencing feelings of irritation and
frustration. So with humble thankfulness and praise, I count myself privileged
to serve my husband and my Lord!
It's hard taking on the jobs of two people. When Brian had his hand surgery I had to do a lot more too and it made me very thankful for everything that he does. Sometimes we don't realize the amount of work our significant others do around the house. We are too busy complaining about them leaving their hats or keys or gloves on the counters we try hard to keep uncluttered. I think it's an eye opening experience for us who are homemakers because we can see how much they really do contribute. Then we have enough and are ready for them to go back to work! :-)
ReplyDelete