The old Chinese couple slowly went upstairs to bed. The night was quiet and all their farm animals were in their place. They had worked hard keeping their small family farm going, and finally they could lay down and sleep. It didn’t take long for her husband to fall asleep, but she for some reason was unable to sleep. All was quiet, the candle flickered, casting soft shadows on the walls. She rehearsed everything she had done that day. Then she was startled by a sound… “Quack” ”quack”… Again the sound, “Quack” “quack”. She didn’t want to wake her husband, but she did. She gently shook him… “Honey, honey, wake up!” “I heard something!” (Again the sound) The husband said, “It’s just a duck.” She replied back, “No, honey, it’s a chicken.” The husband told her once more, this time, a little more agitated, “No, it’s a duck, go back to sleep!!” Still she kept on saying, “No, honey, it’s a chicken, I know it’s a chicken, right?” The husband threw the blanket off, and was obviously angry, turned and looked at his wife, his hand drawn back as if he was going to slap her. In the soft light of the candle, he saw she was scared. He put his hands softly on her face, and held her as he said, “Yes honey, you’re right, it’s a chicken.” They laid back down, and went to sleep.
Take your time, read this again… this is important. How important is it to be right all the time? You say, “Very important!” Let me take a moment and challenge this… it may just help your home. When my wife told this story to me, I just couldn’t help by shed a few tears. It spoke of a need in my life. The need to learn I didn’t have to prove my point, be right 100% of the time, to have my way all the time. Some things are important, and of course a time to ‘make a stand’. There are also times, when it is not so important. It takes love, patience, wisdom to know the difference. So, after she told me this story, there were (and still are) times when there would be a disagreement. In my mind I asked, is this really all that important? If not, I would say, “Yes sweetheart… it’s a chicken.” Sometimes I would just say this to myself, sometimes verbally, and we would smile, sometimes have a laugh. Dad always said, “Jack, choose your battles wisely. There’s no need to make a big deal out of everything.”
Paul says, “Love is patient, love is kind” (I Corinthians 13:4a). “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ….. husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself” (Ephesians 5:25,28).
Next time something comes up, take time to think. Who knows, maybe “it’s a chicken”.
