Simply Different

“So God created man in His own image, in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them.” Gen. 1:27 [NIV]

Yesterday, we established that some of the greatest frustrations we face in relationships are because we are different. We easily conclude, because the other person is different, that the other person’s actions are wrong. But difference is not error; difference is just difference. Many parents think that their teenage children are unwise. Many teenagers think their parents are old school. Many mothers in-law think their son’s wives are wasteful. Many wives think their husband’s mother is a witch. Many husbands think their wives are unbearable. Many wives think the greatest mistake they made was marrying their husbands. But they are just different.
One of the best things that can happen to you in any relationship is to accept that the other person is just different. The person is not necessarily wrong, just different. And the difference could be a background difference. My wife and I for instance are very different and sometimes the difference is a huge shock even to us. When we just got married, if a light bulb in the house goes out, I really do not mind because it is just one bulb. But my wife cannot stand to see it like that. And I am like, are we having an argument because a bulb went out? She will say her father would have changed the bulb. And I will say, I am sorry but I am not your father. Then eventually she changes the bulb herself. Something as simple as that was a major issue.
For some strange reason that I still do not understand, my wife presses her toothpaste from the middle. Who does that? I press my toothpaste from the top to the bottom that is how it was designed. When I see the toothpaste my stomach turns so I talk to her and try to be really nice. Baby, this toothpaste is supposed to be pressed from the top and she will laugh. Which makes it worse because it means she is not listening to me. I had to be wise; so at some point, I left the one she had pressed from the middle and went to buy another one. Guess what? She left her own and came to press my new toothpaste. Men and women are different. If two people agree on everything, one person in the relationship is not necessary. Thank God for your differences.

Prayer: Holy Spirit, teach me to completely accept the differences of the people I am in relationships with and be thankful for those differences, in Jesus Name.