Pet Peeves

Is there anything that someone else does that really bothers you?  Usually, a pet peeve will come from someone with whom you spend a significant amount of time.  Before I go any further, let me say that I love my wife more than anyone can ever imagine.  I cannot imagine my life without her!   There are so many things lacking in my life that she will fill to completion.    There is no doubt that God chose the perfect partner for me!  You will also understand from this reading that she could be the wiser of the two!

As a couple, we’ve successfully maneuvered the toilet seat, the toilet paper roll orientation and empty milk jugs in the refrigerator.  There is, however, one thing that makes me cringe every time it occurs.  I have a Jeep Wrangler that has a small suspension lift.  It is just high enough that Lori has to slightly slip out of the seat to place her feet on the ground.  I assume she may inadvertently use the seat belt as a little support on her way down?  The seat belt ends up tangled, and the buckle is left dangling in the door jamb.  Well, you can imagine what happens when the door is slammed.  The buckle will either fly across the seat, or it will get wedged between the door and the jamb.  Over time, scratches and dents have formed in both areas, not to mention damage to the buckle.  There are very few things that will make me react immediately, and this is one of them.

Against my better judgment,  I decided to address the problem.   My wife, unarguably the smarter of two, calmly decided to remind me of something in our past.  In our first year of marriage, back in the “good-ole-days” of the mid-’90’s, it turns out I did the very same thing after I drove her little Ford Ranger pick-up.  Apparently, when I left the vehicle, I had a bad habit of leaving the seatbelt tangled.  She constantly had to straighten the belt when she drove after me.  She toiled over whether to address the matter.  She came to the conclusion that it was better to have me in her life tangling seatbelts than not to have me around at all. Each time she untangled her seatbelt, she would actually thank God for me in her life.  How am I supposed to respond to that statement? That little pet peeve could have driven a wedge so deep it could have changed the course of history.  My response, of course, concluded in some deep thinking.

I am reminded of Matthew 6:19-24 (ESV):  ¹⁹ “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, ²⁰ but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. ²¹ For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.  ²² The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light, ²³ but if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! ²⁴ No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money.^”

My relationship with God, my wife and others should be more important than anything that “moths or rust” can destroy.  There is no way I should allow a silly piece of metal-covered paint to hinder the relationship with my wife  Our relationship should be a model for others to see Christ.  My children, who will influence future generations, need to see a Christ-like example in their parents.  Will they see someone who is serving God, or will they see someone who put all of their stock in material things?  Pet peeves are a subtle way for the evil one to sneak in and drive wedges in our relationships.  From this point forward when I see those scratches in my Jeep, it will remind me of what a beautiful and loving helpmate that God has given me!  Each individual scratch will be a reminder of the blessing He has put in my life!