this post is a tough one for me. a tough pill to swallow if you will (and it should be noted that i can't swallow pills. so when i say it's "tough" i really, really mean it!) ;-)
a little while ago, we had a leak in our upstairs bathroom. it started as a little drip underneath jeffrey's sink. it was such a little drip in fact, that we didn't even know it was there.
until....
until i happened to notice that the wood looked kinda funny on one of the cabinets. upon further inspection i saw that the little drip had turned into a puddle, which turned into standing water, which turned into a big ole mildewy mess.
if i recall correctly, i am pretty sure that i burst into tears, declared our house condemned, and i might have thrown away every last thing that ever even thought about being in that cabinet. then i called jeffrey at work to let him know (in a calm and reassuring manner, of course) about the travesties that were taking place in our home.
he really loves getting those phone calls while he's at work. :)
oh, and did i mention that i was also super pregnant at that time and about to have a baby any day? which meant that i was also convinced that there was a strong possibility of mold poisoning for our unborn child. i blame all irrational behavior on hormones. :)
to make a long story short, the drip continued and actually went through the floor of the bathroom onto the ceiling of our kitchen directly below it. a few days later, i went into the hospital to have libbi, so jeffrey just cut off the water supply going into the leaky sink until we could take care of it once we came home (with a new baby - aaah!)
that was three years ago, and to this day there is still a small remnant of the water stain on our kitchen ceiling. and as unattractive as it is, it's as if the Lord knew that i would need a tangible reminder that "...a complaining wife is like the constant dripping of water." (proverbs 19:13)
ouch. now do you see why i said this was a tough post? how many times have i been a "complaining wife?" too many to count, i'm sure.
when i see that stain on our ceiling, i'm reminded that just like a constant leak can effect the whole house, a complaining wife can have lasting effects on a marriage.
what began as little drops of water, continued to collect until they turned into a puddle. that puddle grew and grew until it overflowed and spilled out into the bathroom and through the floorboards. the overflowing water put pressure on the wooden cabinets until they splintered and cracked and it marked the ceiling in the kitchen with a noticeable stain. truth be told, the deterioration would have continued and the components of our home would have begun to rot had we not cut off the source of the leak and stopped the drip.
".....a complaining wife is like the constant dripping of water." i used to think this verse just meant a complaining wife was annoying (and all the husbands say, "amen!") ;-) but seeing the effects from the "constant drip" in our home, really opened my eyes to the seriousness of a complaining wife. what started out as a small, unnoticeable leak in our bathroom, turned into a mess that stained the ceiling of another room in our home. while my complaints may start out small, and may even go unnoticed at first, they can and will lead to the demise and deterioration of my marriage. i have to "turn them off" before they begin to puddle and spill out. just like our leak spilled out and effected other areas of our home, so can my constant complaining. i don't want to be a leaky faucet to jeffrey and i don't want my attitude spilling out and effecting my girls, either.
i am SO thankful that our God is gracious and offers redemption, because Lord knows i can't go every day without complaining (sorry, jeffrey!) BUT, i can ask for the Lord to guard my heart and guard my words against being a CONSTANT complainer. and when i find myself with a complaining spirit and a poor attitude, i can look at the ceiling in my kitchen and be reminded of the lasting effects of a complaining wife. and you better believe that i'll also be thanking God for jeffrey and praying that i will not be like a constant dripping of water, but more like a refreshing gatorade - ha! ;-)
"a complaining wife is like the constant dripping of water."
proverbs 19:13
