Wednesday Wifehood

Originally posted 4/22/09

Complaining. We all do it. We all know we shouldn't. Yet, it can be so hard to stop. I'm not just talking about the out loud, obvious complaining we do. I'm also talking about the grumbling and complaining we do in our hearts, where no one else can hear. Or can they... How about God? How about the looks on our faces and the tone of our voice? How about our husbands and how well they know us? I bet they give it away too.

In my 101 in 1001 list, I put down that I want to spend a whole week without any complaining. The funny thing is, I wrote that down without much thought, it was just on my heart. Then, I recently heard about a post another woman did about the same thing over here. It's funny how God works. I was planning on some day getting around to this, but perhaps now is the time.

I'll be honest: I found myself in a very lousy mood last night without meaning to be, because of the thoughts and feelings in my heart that suddenly came bursting out at my husband. I was frustrated at the amount of things that seemingly "needed" to be done all at once and he had the gall to go and take a shower after he'd been working for 12 hours... did you notice the sarcasim? The complaining thoughts in my heart kept building and building until at last I let it all out and had a horrible rest of the night, all because I couldn't control the complaining of my heart. This is why I say complaining goes so much deeper than our words. It's the thoughts and attitudes of our heart that can fester and cause the biggest problems.

So I encourage you, wives, what are the thoughts and attitudes of your heart? Are they honoring and loving, bearing in patience and kindness? Or are they complaining and ungrateful? There's two ways to handle every situation. Will I handle it as Christ would or will I let my flesh get the better of me? Praise God for second chances and His grace to get back up and try it again!!