Wednesday, March 25, 2009

Mud.

Our pastor was doing a series on differences between men and women and I wanted to share one of the illustrations he used:
A woman is stuck in the mud and the man is trying to fix the situation by grabbing sticks to help pull her out, etc. The woman is crying out and the man is desperately trying to rescue her. Afterall, this is man's instinct - to rescue, to fix. Finally, the woman yells: "I just want you to jump in the mud with me!!!" Women want our men to crawl into that ugly mud pit and sympathize with us. Isn't it true?

Last night I came home from work very upset. I had a really bad day and all I wanted to do was vent to Garth. Garth, sweet Garth, immediatly tried to fix the problem I was having. He was rattling off all these ways he could help. Finally, I said...ok maybe yelled: "I just want you to jump in the mud with me!" I didn't want him to fix the problem, not today. I just wanted him to listen and tell me everything was going to be alright.

Garth switched gears and cuddled me close, stroked my hair and told me everything was going to be alright. And then, being the God-fearing man that he is, he prayed for me. I'm so thankful for that man of mine...who remembered that sermon and got in the mud with me!

54 comments:

Heather said...

Great post! I shared this on my blog. Hope you don't mind! :)

Ellen Mint said...

It's bad how empathetic I am sometimes. When my husband is in a bad mood and being pissy I start to react to it without even knowing why he's in a mood and sometimes he doesn't even realize it.

Unknown said...

So true! I love that analogy!

SusanD said...

Love this post! Your hubby is super sweet. Blessings, SusanD

Adrienne said...

I love that analogy - it's so true! My FH and I have a system, before I start a "rant" I have to preface the conversation by saying whether this is a "listen" conversation, or a "fix it" conversation, and then he acts accordingly. It works great!

Girl Meets Beau said...

What a sweet post! And so true!! It's hard when you are having a bad day and all men want to do is fix it and make it go away. It's their way of helping, I guess, but it doesn't work for us :) I love this analogy! And what a sweet husband to sit and pray with you afterwards.

LyndsAU said...

what a precious story!! what a great husband!! :)

Melissa said...

Wow...so true! I'm going to tell my husband about that one!

Lucky in Love said...

You guys truly fit :)

Hope your week gets better!

Kristin said...

Definitely true about men and women! Garth sounds like a sweetheart! Does he have a clone that happens to live in California? ;-)

The Pink Chick said...

I love this post! What a wonderful analogy! I hope you have a better day today!

Unknown said...

So true! I might have to share this on my blog... :)

AmberDenae said...

What a great analogy and sweet story!

April E. :) said...

Wow...how sweet :) I love it when it clicks like that...for all of us!

Courtney said...

Everyone else has said it, but I'll say it again- so true! :) Sorry about the bad day, girl!

J said...

So very true!! I hope you day is going better!!

Anonymous said...

Such a great post - I will have to share this with Dimples. Thank you!

Unknown said...

How true. What a great analogy. I'm going to share with Husby.

Hope things are better with work now :)

That's What She Said said...

so true.. and what a great friendship you two have!

Jen McCrady said...

that's awesome. exactly what we're going through in our marriage too! i better explain that to ryan before i just say "jump in the mud with me!" :)

Tara Gibson said...

how sweet. I love this post.. so very true! You have a great husband!

Megan said...

That is very sweet that Garth prays for you like that!

Megan said...

What a great illustration and what a sweet hubby!

Mrs. Dirnberger said...

I love that story..thanks for sharing it! I always want someone in the mud with me :)

~Mrs. Guru~ said...

Love that story. My hubby knows when to pray for me as well and will do it right then and there out loud. It brings a sense of calm.

- Sarah :-) said...

Okay - I'm DEFINITELY telling my husband this story. It's SO true - just get dirty already... quit trying to fix things and jsut get in the mud with me!

Your pastor FINALLY put words to the insanity of womanhood. Go Pastor-guy!! Rock on!

ha ha ha

The Blonde Duck said...

That's a perfect analogy. I have to tell the same thing to Ben sometimes--I don't want him to fix it, I just want to whine!

Kyla @ The Simpsons said...

What a sweet post Lindsey!!

Sassy Engineer said...

What a good illustration! I think my husband has a hard time jumping in the mud because he thinks that I will be happier if I let him pull me out. We are still working on that area :)

Sara said...

Great post and SO true! I'm always telling my husband all he has to say is, "I'm sorry, that sucks!" when I'm unhappy about something.

Ginger said...

can you fly to Oklahoma and have a long talk with my husband and explain this to him?

This is what I've been trying to tell him about dealing with my insomnia I don't want him to give me ways to fix it that's what doctors are for I just want to be held at 3:00AM when I wake him up sobbing because no matter what I do I can't sleep.

Naturally Caffeinated Family said...

ahhh good hubby, that's so sweet, and so awesome that he prayed for you too, i love that :)

Amber said...

Great post! Don't you just love when he prays for you or with you? I fall in love with my hubby all over again every time he does that!

Melissa said...

I just have to tell you...your relationship is such an inspiration to me!

jlc said...

I love when my hubby says he prays for me. Him? Praying for me? And he's the one in Iraq.

It just boggles my mind daily. I sooo understand what you're talkin' about.

Unknown said...

So sweet :) You and your hubby are adorable.

Unknown said...

Great post. Kudos to Garth for hearing you. It's nice when men can conform, but always remember to accept that he is a man and understand how they do things differently. Make sure to cut him some slack next time he tries to "fix" something - he did good - and remember this special moment.

Winks & Smiles,
Wifey

The Mrs. said...

Excellent analogy (that is an analogy right? : )

I get this all the time from flyboy, especially when he's away and feels bad b/c he's not here to fix it. I always tell him, I dont want you to fix it, just listen, thats more then enough.

Hope you have a better end of the week!

Perfectly Imperfect said...

You guys are precious!!

Sara @ Domestically Challenged said...

Nice guy you've got there~ you can tell how much he loves you! I really like that analogy as well, thank you for sharing.

KRISTEN'S PALACE said...

great post! i cant wait until the day i can write a post saying how my husband prays for me. all in Gods time! :)

Jules said...

So sweet! You two have such a strong relationship and I admire that. It's funny, because my girlfriends and I always talk about how guys are "fixers". That is a great analogy!

Jon and Steph said...

What a precious story! I love that your pastor shared this with you guys! It's so true, men love fixing things/problems. I want Jon to jump in the mud with me sometimes too ;) Your husband is so sweet for listening to you, taking care of you and praying for you!

Saskia said...

This is SO true! What a sweetheart Garth is. My husband is the same :)

x

Christie said...

This is wonderful. I love the illustration your pastor used- it's very true! Thanks for being an inspirational couple in terms of faith, it's great to read about.

Anonymous said...

So, so true! I am now going to share with the hubs!

Emily said...

ahhh ur soo lucky! how sweet! I love it... I know the feeling.. when you really dont want advice on the subject you just want a snuggle and to know weverything will be ok.. thanks for sharing my friend!

Tabbie:) said...

Aaawww, this so made me cry!!
Aaawww...
Does your pastor have notes for this sermon...I might need them to share with Mr. Wonderful.

JennyLee said...

Great analogy!

Anonymous said...

That's really wonderful. Thank you for sharing. Reminded me of my own gratitude in my faithful man.

Nessa said...

i've read your blog for awhile, and now im a groupie..!!=) great post and great hubby!

Minnesota Girl said...

Excellent post! I hear ya---sometimes they just need to listen!

I hope you're having a better day today & that you have a fun and relaxing weekend!

Anonymous said...

I totally had to say that to my husband last night. I was super stressed and he kept trying to fix it and I finally just yelled for him to get in the mud with me! He doesn't read your blog so he had no idea what the heck I was talking about, but I explained it to him and he gave me a great big hug. Thanks for the story!

Anonymous said...

3 things.

1. That was a great post.
2. You have the sweetest husband.
3. This totally made me tear up.

I hope things are better for ya!