Taking Out the Trash Talk

Friendships between women can be powerful and positive influences, and I certainly can relate to times when we wives and moms need such relationships...they can help us grow, provide support, and offer encouragement. However, I often notice that there are women who seek out other women in what appears to be a gab fest, where husbands and kids are free to be dragged through the mud verbally. I can hear it now, "Why can't he just get off of the couch and do something useful for once?" "All they do is cause me heart-ache, messes, and trouble." "Never send a man to do what only a woman can." Okay, I can't really hear those comments, but you get the point. Any words that come out of your mouth that complain, tear-down, and hinder direct and positive solutions in a marriage or parenting relationship are not helpful. A quick read through of Phillipians Chapter 4 can be very helpful! Instead of complaining "about," why not take the initiative and calmly address the issues that are causing you such stress and the need to "trash talk?" It is much more beneficial to say, "Honey, I am really feeling like you would rather sit in front of that video game than pay attention to me," than to grab the controller, smash it on the floor, and call your gal friend to malign the dude. It is more beneficial to think on what is good, pure, lovely, and true, and recognize that your husband worked hard all day and can use some "down-time" to de-stress. It is more beneficial to teach your children how to study and clean-up well, find them a tutor, or set-up a positive-reinforcement system than to complain about their grades, bad behavior, or sloppiness. Your attitude about your family is either a witness that builds up or tears down, a witness to the world of how you feel about those closest to you. If you treat your friends and strangers at the grocery store better than you are speaking of and treating your mate or children, maybe it is time for a re-boot, and take out the trash. Blessings to you and yours, Marriage Gal Michelle