In days gone by when Mike & I were both working full time, our weekends were essential for resting and recuperating from the stresses of the week. I usually would go out of my way to ensure I got enough rest to feel fresh and raring to go on Monday morning. So when our weekends were interrupted by often uncontrolled circumstances, I got a bit irritated (I can hear Mike saying “a bit?”)
One particular weekend our usual quiet Friday evening was blown to pieces by overnight visitors. The children were out and we had visitors! How cruel is that?
Saturday arrived and the overnight visitors were on their way. Yippee, now for the rest I had been craving. We lay in bed a bit, read the paper and eventually went down to the mall with the children for breakfast. On our return, I got back into my pajamas (It’s a psychological thing!) and got back into bed! We watched a DVD and had a sleep. Then Mike got restless and got up to go and work on his computer. I was so irritated. You see if he’s not resting, then I’m not resting! I so wanted to moan at him, but eventually I got up and went and cleaned the kitchen. In my mind the weekend was now fast regressing into a horrible stress-filled nightmare. I was so annoyed. Mike was worried about work and there were several things that needed to be done for my radio show before Monday morning. This Saturday was going to be the only time to really rest.
Returning to our bedroom, Mike was still at his computer and so I sat down at mine and did some of my own work! Now I was working on a day that I should have been resting. Grrrr! Mike eventually turned to me and said something about how good it is to write things down because then you get a good perspective. I grunted and carried on with what I was doing. He left our study area and headed for the bathroom. I said “it’s been a terrible weekend!” Fortunately, he didn’t hear me. Then I thought about what I’d said. It’s been a terrible weekend. “Why exactly?” I asked myself? Okay the visitors were here, but they’ve gone now. We had a good lie in this morning, had a great breakfast out with the children, chilled in front of a cute movie and had a sleep. How bad was all that? Not bad at all. In fact it had been pretty cool and I had enjoyed it. You know what? It has actually been a good weekend and it’s not over yet.
I had a reality check, planned for the rest of it and found that we could rest, do gym, arrange Sunday lunch and do all I needed to do before Monday. It was do-able.
All I was doing was making a mountain out of a mole-hill.
It’s so easy to make a big issue out of something that is not. To make your marriage happier, have a reality check on a regular basis. Ask yourself “how bad is it really?” You’ll find it isn’t that bad after all. A good positive attitude goes a long way in sending even the biggest mole back underground.
Think! The next time you are about to spew out negative thoughts about an event or how terrible life is, put it in perspective. Add up the good things and match them up against the bad. Like me, you’ll be surprised at the outcome.
What amazes me about this account is that, as I wrote it a while ago, I cannot remember the weekend at all! The other thing that occurs to me, is how selfish I was. It was all about ME and how much rest I had to get. Poor Mike! I couldn’t have been that easy to live with. Now days, I’m only working part time and am around to give him a lot more attention. It works much better this way!
Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
There is a bigger picture. Try not to lose sight of it.
Marriage is for keeps.
Keep the smile going.
God bless you!
In His Grip,
Helga xx 🙂