“Drip. Drip. Drip. Drip.”The faucet was leaking again! Every time I tried to read or think or sleep, all I could hear was that awful dripping. I always felt a flush of anger, as I had to jump up and attempt to shut up the noise. I would put a washcloth in the sink where the water would land hoping this would quite the noise. I would tighten the faucet handles, but nothing worked. I could always hear it no matter what I did to remedy the problem.
“Drip…Drip…Drip.” If it was quite bothersome to me, I may have even gone to a different room to read where I could not heart it, although I really longed to sit in my chair which I remembered to be my comfortable and peaceful place.
No remedy could be found, until one day we replaced the entire faucet. Now it is silent and I do enjoy it so. Most of the time I forget how irritating it was. But sometimes I stop and remember and am grateful for its silence.
I believe God used that dripping faucet to teach me something very important. God speaks to us all in different ways. Because I am sensitive to noises, God used this sensitivity to teach me.
Proverbs 19:13 tells us:
“….the contentions of a wife are a continual dropping”
When I am quarrelsome or “nag” my husband, I am like a constant dripping! Do I want to be like that old leaky faucet that always stirred bad feeling in me? Just when I wanted to relax in my chair; my safe haven, to read or nap, that dripping invaded my space.
Is it possible that a wife who nags her husband invades his peace everyday? A man’s home is his safe haven from the outside world. It should be a place where he comes after a hard day’s work. He knows he is free to be himself, to kick off his shoes, to relax, to just enjoy the peace of his home. He knows that it is a place of unconditional love and respect, or does he?
“Don’t leave your shoes there!”
“When will you fix this? I’ve asked you five times!”
“Do you think you could help me with the housework? I have to do everything myself!”
“How long are you going to read that paper?”
Does this sound familiar? Even if it does not, there are most likely other words used that seem accusatory or insulting as these do.
Just as I tried to fix that faucet with the washcloth or by tightening the handles, the husband may try his own tactics to remedy the problem. If nothing works and he still hears the “dripping”, he may decide to go somewhere that he can’t hear it.
Not only does the Word of God tell us that a quarrelsome wife is like a constant dripping, it tells what is better than living with one.
Proverbs 21:9
“It is better to dwell in a corner of the housetop, than with a brawling woman in a wide house.”
Proverbs 21:19
“It is better to dwell in the wilderness, than with a contentious and an angry woman.”
The dripping faucet certainly could not fix itself. But when we replaced it, it was made “new” and did not drip any longer. In that same way, Jesus can change the wife and make her “new”. He will change her to see more clearly and have different priorities and give her love in her heart.
by Julie Ryan
