Page 46 - Sarah's Children

paint fell and landed in the tub spilling its contents everywhere. Oil base paint
cannot be cleaned up with water, it has to be cleaned up with paint thinner or
mineral spirits. This was a major mess and as soon as the spill occurred I was
immediately infuriated. I was greatly upset at the prospects of having to clean up the
mess all over the bath tub. In a fit of anger I picked up the closest thing to me, some
sort of container one would find in a bath tub, and I hurled it with all of my strength
out the door and down the hall where it ended up in some far room.

As the projectile exited the doorway I looked and my wife had just come to see what
the commotion was. Fortunately I missed hitting her, but I saw her stare with mouth
agape as this object flew past her and she saw the obvious anger that I was
demonstrating. Tony never said anything about my outburst, wisely remaining silent.
She did not even give me so much as a disapproving glance. I think she was simply
in shock.

As I mentioned, we had not been married very long at this time. I think there must
always be some concern in the mind of a woman about what kind of a man they are
marrying. Many men seem to be Prince Charming when they are dating, but they
turn into an ugly toad after the vows are said. Many are the women that find out that
their husbands have a violent streak after the marriage ceremony, and many endure
beatings and worse.

I am not sure what worries my violent outburst caused my wife, but her response was
a study in the awesome power of the tongue when it is used with discretion and
wisdom. Tony said nothing to me about the matter concerning my outburst. The next
day, however, when we were together and we were embracing she looked me in the
eyes and she said, “I am so glad that God gave me such a gentle and loving husband.”

Tony said this with great sincerity, and the moment the words came from her lips I
was reminded of my action the day before that seemed anything but gentle. I felt
instant conviction as I looked at my bride and I wanted to be that good thing that she
confessed about me. I wanted to be gentle and loving. I wanted to be worthy of my
wife’s confession and praise.

Tony never had to scold me or offer a word of reproof about my uncontrolled
outburst. She did something far more powerful and effective. She became my
cheerleader and I saw that she was rooting for me. I wanted to prevail in godliness
because I saw her as being my advocate and not my adversary.

Over the next days and months I thought greatly about the dynamics of what my wife
had done, and how she had elicited from me a desire to become more godly. I
thought about how most women would have handled it and how they would have
scolded or reprimanded their husband and how it would not have borne the same