Your goal should be to become a gentle, loving, and tender husband who does not lecture. Lectures during stressful times only create more stress. This was a new concept to me because I wasn't fortunate enough to have a father who knew how to be tender to his wife. I wasn't aware of my wife's needs for tenderness until a few years ago. No one had ever told me that one of a woman's greatest needs is tenderness and a husband who will listen instead of lecture, and even if someone had, I don't think I would have understood. (I should have been able to figure it out, though, because when I am down, I like people to be gentle and comforting to me.)
I'll never forget what one woman told me: “If my husband would only put his arms around me and hold me, without lecturing me, when I am feeling blue!” But lecture #734 would begin as he told her she would feel better if she took an aspirin...if she were more organized...if she wouldn't wear her self down so much...if she would discipline the children better....
“Have you ever told him what you need?” I asked.
“Are you kidding? I'd be embarrassed,” she laughed. “Come on, you're kidding.”
“No. He probably doesn't know what to do. He doesn't know you need to be held instead of lectured. Why don't you tell him during a calm conversation some day?”
“That does kind of make sense to me. A lot of times when I am down and crying and all upset, he'll ask, 'What do you want me to do?’ I just flare up and say, 'If I have to tell you what to do, it would wreck the whole idea.'“
As a husband, I recommend that you ask your wife when and how you need to hold her when she needs to be comforted. Ask her what circumstances prompt her to seek your gentle caring arms and touch. You can't dream them up on your own. We just can't perceive the deep feelings of other people. We've got to draw them out and then practice, practice, practice the skills of meeting our wives' needs.
The first time I ever tried to ski, I rode a rope pulley to the top of a small hill. The hill looked a lot bigger from the top than it did from the bottom.
I thought, no way am I gonna go down this hill. So I sat down on the back of my skis and scooted all the way down.
Even if you have to scoot instead of ski your way through the skills in this chapter at first, remember that you'll eventually be able to get to your feet. This book is certainly not an exhaustive marriage manual, but it is a start. Believe me, if you practice what is written here, you and your wife can have a more loving marriage.
When I was first learning the art of comforting my wife, we had an experience that took every ounce of self-control I could muster. But I came through a stronger man, encouraged by my new-found strength. I want you to imagine yourself in my situation. How would you have reacted?
I had bought a dumpy-looking boat for $400 because we wanted to do more things together as a family. That same night my son and I decided to take it for a quick trip to the lake, only five minutes from our house, just to see how it ran. Because of my inexperience as a boater, the wind blew the boat back to the bank the first time I put it in. I got wet and frustrated trying to push it out again. After an irritating ten minutes trying to start the cantankerous thing, the boat wouldn't go faster than ten miles an hour. Something was obviously wrong. I was quite a way from the shore before I realized I had better get back in case the motor stalled.
Then? “Dad, the boat's sinking!” Greg cried. I looked behind me and saw the foot of water that had gurgled in. The previous owner had taken the plug out the last time it had rained but had forgotten to tell me. With the hull full of water, I couldn't find the hole for the plug. Luckily we didn't sink. I put the boat back on the trailer, determined to take it back first thing in the morning. I was a little embarrassed to have the dumpy-looking thing parked in front of my house anyway.
A boat dealer told me it would take $150 to fix the engine's broken seal, so I returned it to the owner who had promised me I could have my money back if I didn't like it.
When I left home early that morning, I had agreed to be back by eleven o'clock so Norma could go shopping. Retrieving my money took longer than I had planned, and I arrived home an hour-and-a-half late. In the meantime, Norma had decided to take our minimotor home to the grocery store. Trying to turn it around in the driveway, she accidentally drove too close to the house and sheared off a section of the roof. As the roof fell, it put a huge dent in the front of the motor home.
When I pulled into the drive at 12:30, I saw part of the roof lying in the driveway next to the dented motor home. I just laughed out loud, more out of desperation than humor.
I wanted to say to my wife, “Oh, no, $500 at least to fix this. Where did you get your driver's license, at a garage sale?” I wanted to lecture her angrily and then ignore her for a while.
For once, I remembered what I was supposed to do. I told myself, “Keep your mouth shut and put your arms around her. Just hold her. Don't say anything, okay?”
However, my basic human nature told me, “Give her a lecture. Let our anger out. Express it.”
My mind finally triumphed over my will. I put my arms around her and said gently, “You must feel terrible, don't you?” Even though war was still raging inside me. We went into the house and sat on the couch. I let her talk her feelings out.
I held her, and after a couple of minutes I felt good because I could feel the tenderness begin to flow from me. Soon I was fine, and she was encouraged. Minutes later, a carpenter friend drove up who had already heard about the accident. We had the roof patched and painted in two hours.
It felt good not to be angry for once. I hadn't offended my wife, shouted at the kids, or diminished any of the beauty of our relationship. I could have reverted to my old excuse, “Well, I just can't keep from blowing up.” Instead, I had one of those encouraging victories.
My new-found sensitivity has been tested on several occasions. Once I almost blew it on a fishing trip. I normally become completely oblivious to my family and the world when I'm near a stream, totally “submerging” myself in the exhilarating environment of fishing: the smell of the air, the tension when a fish strikes, the sound of the stream. Oops! Back to the story.
When we pulled up in our minimotor home beside a beautiful steam, my heart was pounding. I could hardly wait to get my reel rigged up. First, I rigged the kids' reels and told them, “Look, if you get tangled up, you're on your own.” (I used to get so frustrated when I was trying to fish and they were yelling, “Dad, I can't get this reeled in.” I wanted to devote my entire energy to fishing on my own.)
I found the perfect spot: a nice deep hole in a pool in front of a big boulder. I threw in the lure and let it wander naturally to the bottom of the pool. It swirled around and wham! I got my first trout! I had nearly caught the limit when Greg came running up. I was sure he was about to jump into the stream and spook the fish. I was already upset and angry from his interruption when he said, “Dad! Kari broke her leg!”
Kari broke her leg! What a time to break her leg! I couldn't believe she would do this to me. It was hard for me to leave, but I gave the line to Greg and said, “Don't break it. Don't get it tangled up. Just keep it in there.” I ran in Kari's direction, avoiding the big pool. After all, I didn't want to scare the fish.
Downstream, Kari was crying. “Daddy, I think I broke my leg.”
When I looked at it, I realized it was only bruised.
“Don't touch it,” I said. “It's not broken, it's just bruised. Put your leg in this cold water to soak for a few minutes.”
I'm really embarrassed to tell the rest of the story, but maybe you can learn from my insensitivity. I ran back to the fishing hole and caught a few more trout before walking back to where Kari was crying. “Dad, this water is cold.”
I rather roughly got her up to walk, but she couldn't. When I tried to hoist her up on the bank and couldn't, she started crying again and said, “Dad, you're so rough with me. Can't you be tender?” Something flashed when she said that word. It reminded me of all the times my wife and other women have told me, “What we need is tenderness and gentleness, not harshness. We don't need lectures.” And I couldn't even be tender with my eleven-year-old daughter. I had already lectured Kari because I felt she was interrupting my day. “Why didn't you look first?” I had asked her.
Just who was more important anyway? Those trout or my precious daughter? It was hard for me to face, but those trout had been more important to me. I had let fishing and my own desire endanger my only daughter. I was wrong, and I should have known better!
When I came to my senses, I hung my head low and said, “Kari, I've been so wrong to be harsh with you. I really feel bad. Will you forgive me?”
“Yeah, I'll forgive you, Dad.”
“Kari, you are more important to me than any fish, and I want you to know that. I was so carried away by this activity today that I really hurt you, didn't I?”
We just held each other for a while, and then she looked up into my eyes and asked gently, “Dad, did you use deodorant today?”
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[Original illustration at this number was added to HolwickID #5020]
