Respect and the Dripping Faucet (3rd in a series of 3 Respect Articles)
Saturday, October 28, 2017 at 12:31PM
Michael and Donna Martin

By Donna Martin

It has been a long day.  You have worked so hard and you are tired.  Finally it is time to crawl into bed.  You punch your pillow until it is just the way you want it, wiggle around in the bed until it feels comfortable and then relax as you snuggle under the covers.  Welcome sleep will soon engulf your body. Everything is quiet.  But wait.  What is that noise?   Drip, drip, drip, drip.  Someone did not completely turn off the faucet.  You lie there not wanting to get up, but you know that this tiny noise is going to keep you up all night.  So you get up, go to the bathroom and turn the knob as hard as you can and stop the tiny flow of water.  You return to bed go through the same routine, but as you lay your head on the pillow you hear it again.  Drip, drip, drip, drip.  You bury your head under the pillow, but the dripping can still be heard.  You pull the covers up over your head.  But the dripping can still be heard.  There is no one else home.  Your husband is on a business trip.  It is up to you to stop the dripping, so you go to the garage, look through the tool box and find the wrench.  You march back to the bathroom armed for battle.  With all your might you turn the knob; the dripping stops.  You are so proud of yourself for figuring out how to stop the dripping.  Back to bed, same routine, head on the pillow, long needed rest…….drip, drip, drip, drip.  Every muscle in your body tenses up.  This cannot be happening.  How can you make it stop?????

You take the wrench and begin to pound the knob, but still the dripping continues.  You pound again and suddenly the knob flies off.  But the dripping continues.  What a mess.  Now there is no way to turn it off.  You shut the bathroom door.  You go back to bed, but you cannot relax.  Every muscle is tensed.  Even with the door closed and the pillow over your head the irritating noise is still there….drip, drip, drip, drip.

You know sleep will not come, so you go back to the bathroom and see if you can find the place to turn off the water, but it is stuck and the dripping continues.

So you go to the couch to try to escape from the noise.  But now you are wide awake. You reach for your Bible.  Maybe if you read a few verses, you will fall asleep.  You randomly open the Bible to Proverbs, close your eyes and move your finger down the page.   When your finger stops you open your eyes and read Proverbs 27: 15-16 “A nagging spouse is like the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet; you can't turn it off, and you can't get away from it. (MSG)

You think of the way you greeted your husband when he came home from work yesterday. Instead of welcoming him home with a warm hug and kiss, you began to bark orders, “It’s about time you got home, I am so tired of putting up with these arguing kids.  I hope you are planning on mowing the yard today.  It looks like a jungle.” Drip, drip, drip, drip.

When he sat down to watch the ballgame on Sunday you said, “All you ever do is watch football, I can think of a lot better ways to spend your time.”   Drip, drip, drip, drip.

You think of your husband and the words that you said before he left.  Instead of saying, “I’ll miss you. I can’t wait until you get back.”  You sent him off with these words, “Do you realize that you left your dirty clothes lying on the bed?  I guess you think I don’t have anything else to do but pick up after you.  When do I get to have a vacation?”  Drip, drip, drip, drip…..

As you place the Bible back on the table and stretch out on the couch you pray, “Lord, I may not be able to fix the dripping faucet in the bathroom, but thank you for showing me the leaky faucet that I can fix.”

(article #3 in a series about Respect)

The Martins are available to present “Happy Together” Marriage Enrichment Events for churches and organizations.  To schedule an event call Michael at 940-735-1515. They are certified “Prepare/Enrich” Facilitators and are available to work with couples on an individual basis using the “Prepare/Enrich Assessment.”  They publish a weekly “Happy Together” Blog about family and marriage issues.  You can order copies of their new books Dancing With Death and 366 Tidbits We Have Learned in 14,610 Days of Marriage, read, and subscribe to their “Happy Together” Blog by logging onto the Martin’s website at www.happytogethermarriages.com.

 

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Article originally appeared on Happy Together Marriages (http://www.happytogethermarriages.com/).
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