Clear It Up!

 

The BIG 3: Resentment. Frustration. Anger. Emotions that can be fairly common in a 24/7 relationship, i.e. married life. For most of us “normal” folks, feeling bad about our spouse ranks way down at the bottom of the list of fun things to do in life right along with getting our wisdom teeth cut out.  As much as we truly hate to feel hateful about our husband or wife, those yucky feelings often crop up and feel like – well, yuck.  A lot of those resentful, frustrating feelings come from simple misunderstandings. Misunderstandings come out of a situation where we make a faulty assumption without first having all the information. It’s a judgment call – often a critical judgment call - because we have pre-determined something about someone without having all the facts. Misunderstandings happen in the most caring relationships. Jesus had something to say about a resentful and judging attitude. He makes his position pretty clear. “Don’t judge others, and you will not be judged. Don’t accuse others of being guilty, and you will not be accused of being guilty. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” (Luke 6:37)

So clear up those misunderstandings BEFORE they turn into resentments. Most situations that we are concerned about have simple explanations. Example: "You said that you were going to load the dishwasher before you left for work this morning. What happened?"  When said with a friendly tone, you may get this answer, "Sorry, hon, I got a phone call from work and had to get in earlier than I thought for that meeting with the district manager. I can take care of that now."  Speak up and clear up what's troubling you.  And get a whole lot more fun out of life.