“A quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping on a rainy day; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand” (Proverbs 27:15,16).
This is a verse I don’t like to read, because sometimes I feel like a grouchy wife. Do you?
When I am tired, overworked, hungry, sick or selfish, I become irritable. I think of my own feelings and not the feelings of others. I say words I do not always mean, but that I can never take back.
In the place I grew up, the end of the month of October is windy. The last leaves blow down from the trees until the first of November, when they are all gone. I do not like the leaves to be gone; the bare branches are depressing. But there is nothing I nor anyone else can do to stop the wind.
A man cannot stop his wife from quarreling with him or complaining to him. There is only one person who can stop the wife from acting like that. Do you know who it is?
It is the wife herself—with God’s help.
Gentleness is one of the fruits of the Spirit. Gentleness means having a soft touch and a sweet manner. I want to be gentle.
Impossible? It is impossible for my husband to make me gentle. But with God’s help I can become gentle. The Bible says that all things are possible with God.
If you want to be different than you are, confide your thoughts to God and then ask Him to change you. He will not do it without your permission.
Kimberly Snider is a missionary to the Philippines.
From “Moments for Moms,” a free email subscription.
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