Oddly enough, it’s my own husband that insults me the most. I think he’d say the same about me. It’s just inevitable, isn’t it, when two people live together for years on end?
Proverbs gives a glimpse about the wise response:
Foolsshow their annoyance at once,
but the prudent overlook an insult.
Many times regrettable words are said in anger. The same is given in return and then it’s all a mess.
What would our relationships look like if we just stayed calm when someone lashed out instead of slinging the best comeback we could muster?
What if we took 30 seconds to gather our thoughts before we responded?
What if, instead of slinging a comeback, we could just be honest and say you just hurt my feelings.
It’d be tough but I dare say it’d be good.
Challenge: Give yourself 30 seconds to respond to an insult and then respond with honesty, not another insult.
This post is part of The Nester’s 31 Days Series
There is a man at church whom I firmly believe, gets up on Sunday mornings and says, “How can I get under Denise’s skin today?” Sometimes it hurts my feelings and sometimes it just plain makes me mad! I need to write this verse on my hand before I go to church. Beth Moore says that when someone hurts your feelings you should just tell God on them. I’ve tried that and it actually works. Takes away my need to “get back at him”.
Denise, thank you for sharing that. Just had to tell God on someone 🙂 I’ll be praying for your Sunday morning. Church of all places is not where you want to be irritated and insulted.
Ain’t that the truth. Satan is alive and well.
I used to be SO much better about not lashing out, earlier in our marriage. I knew how to be patient and let things roll off my back or actually come back with a valid, “That hurt my feelings” instead of an equally insulting jab. But the older I get, the more tired I get, and my fuse is already lit, so the hubs just added fuel to the fire. Something I definitely need to work on again. It’s not every day that I think, “Wow, I was more mature in this area early on in my marriage than I am now!” Weird.
Leann recently posted…Paste and Band-Aids
Leann, that is so totally me too! I remember it started after our first child. Maybe lack of sleep or something but I really did get more irritable!