By
Dana Rausch
/ February 23, 2015
Standing in line, I was waiting for the next available cashier. An elderly couple walked in front of me to look at the shelf of men’s polo shirts. Suddenly she blurts out to her husband, “What the _______! They are right here you dumb _____! He slowly saunters over and doesn’t utter a word.
I am surprised she didn’t hear my jaw hit the tile floor. I was appalled by her choice of words and the way she emasculated her husband without a clue.
A few days later Don and I were on a one day road trip. The sun was setting and it was a beautiful colored sunset. I grabbed my iphone to take a picture. As I was ready to take it Don suggested that I take it with my ipad. I set my phone down on the console and grabbed the ipad. I was having a difficult time getting a good one because of the rough ride in the truck. Don moved over a lane to see if that would help as I tried again. I wasn’t too thrilled when out of eight pictures only two were good.
Arriving home late, I plugged my phone in the computer to charge and went to bed. The next morning when I unplugged my phone, the sunset picture was on my monitor. Thinking that odd (because I took it with my ipad) I sat down to explore. Unknown to me, I accidentally hit video on my phone when I had placed it on the console of the truck. I listened to a five minute conversation between Don and me in the truck. I heard his suggestion to use my ipad and his offer to change lanes to make the ride smoother.
BUT……..I also heard my responses. Knowing now that it was no accident I hit video, I cringed as I re-heard our conversation.
Do I always talk to Don like that? Do I use that tone of voice often? He was merely being nice, but my voice implied anything but. I was rude.
To be perfectly honest, I hit delete immediately. I didn’t – nor wouldn’t – want anyone else to hear it. Yet as I sat back and reflected on my tone of voice, it hit me that I wasn’t any different than the wife in the store.Although, I didn’t use her choice of words, I implied the same idea with my tone. I too emasculated my husband without a clue by talking down to him, sounding condescending and coating my words with contempt.
Proverbs 31 describes a good and honorable wife. Citing a long list of wonderful attributes, verse 25 states, “When she speaks, her words are wise, and kindness is the rule for everything she says.….”
Alrighty…….then.
I guess I have some cleaning up to do, and the first one is an apology to Don Rausch.
Lord, what I considered an accident, you meant for a lesson. Thank you that I video-taped a common conversation that brought clarity to a muddy issue. Change my heart God and make it more like you. And Lord, next time I talk to Don like that, could you bring a taste of soap to my mouth, to remind me? And could you use Ivory, I heard from a reliable source, it tastes the best!”