Genuine love minds its manners. I would always take pride that I was raised well by my parents. I wasn't ignorant of etiquette and I knew the Golden Rule by heart. How then did I grew up with double standards? I expected good manners from my spouse when I myself was rude to him. I employed a different code of conduct with others and even with strangers, yet use another with my own family. The worst part was I was too self-seeking to realize that I need to change. I wanted control over things but could not bridle my tongue and curb my behavior. I demanded good manners yet did not work on earning it. I felt like I was above the Golden Rule in my marriage. It is only now that I realize how truly blessed I was and still am to have a gentle man for a husband. That he was, by nature, a forbearing husband who had been provoked tirelessly by an overbearing wife. It was time to make amends. Time for change.
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Lord, many times over the years of marriage, I know that I am guilty of losing control over my mouth and manners when I am unsatisfied and disappointed. When I am in these states, I become someone unpleasant to be with-- provoking confrontations, easily dishing out sarcastic quips and even worse, using foul words that insult, hurt and criticize. Yet, I expect to be respected and honored. I know, these things are not negated by me just saying "I love you". I have to be genuine and show and not just say. I truly am sorry, Lord. Please, strip me of my pride when I feel too proud to work on these areas of my behavior. Train me to be mindful of my words that those that will come out of my lips may only inspire, encourage and empower the one I love. Teach me to become a wife that is pleasant to be with, to be a good-natured woman cautious of her actions, reactions and attitudes towards inevitable disappointments and failures. Direct me not only to become the considerate wife I ought to be but to be a sensitive person carefully recognizing the boundaries of my words and actions. Amen.
He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him.
-- Proverbs 27:14
Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
~~Proverbs 25:24
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Lord, many times over the years of marriage, I know that I am guilty of losing control over my mouth and manners when I am unsatisfied and disappointed. When I am in these states, I become someone unpleasant to be with-- provoking confrontations, easily dishing out sarcastic quips and even worse, using foul words that insult, hurt and criticize. Yet, I expect to be respected and honored. I know, these things are not negated by me just saying "I love you". I have to be genuine and show and not just say. I truly am sorry, Lord. Please, strip me of my pride when I feel too proud to work on these areas of my behavior. Train me to be mindful of my words that those that will come out of my lips may only inspire, encourage and empower the one I love. Teach me to become a wife that is pleasant to be with, to be a good-natured woman cautious of her actions, reactions and attitudes towards inevitable disappointments and failures. Direct me not only to become the considerate wife I ought to be but to be a sensitive person carefully recognizing the boundaries of my words and actions. Amen.
He who blesses his friend with a loud voice early in the morning, it will be reckoned a curse to him.
-- Proverbs 27:14
Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife.
~~Proverbs 25:24