Be Confident

A few years ago I was talking with my sister-in-law (whose husband is an investment banker) and asking her how she handles her husband being gone so much.  We talked about a lot of things, but one thing that has stuck with me is her telling me that you have to be confident in yourself.  About a month or so prior to our conversation she had an experience where the  pipes backed up in their kitchen and got icky drainage water everywhere (it happened a few times in a row actually).  It was a big pain, but she couldn't rely on her husband to help in any way.  She had to figure out how to handle and take care of the situation herself.  And you know what, she did and it was fine.

 

I consider myself fairly independent, but there are certain things that I feel like my husband is just better at handling so I usually refer them to him.  For example, fixing stuff.  I was raised to use tools and fix things myself, but I've learned through our marriage that my husband tends to be able to do it much faster than I can.  I find my time is better spent doing other things, so I let him handle the fixing. 

The other day we had a clogged tub.  Since we only have one tub and I couldn't give my son a bath, I was hoping my husband would have time to fix it fairly quickly.  But it was a week where he was on call almost every other night and I knew he would be tired.  So, one day while my son was watching a show, I looked up how to take apart the drain stop, I opened the drain, cleared it out and had the tub working in 10 minutes.  I was very proud of myself, not for just doing it, but doing it quickly.  A few nights ago our toilet paper holder came apart.  Its not like any kind we had before and I wasn't really sure how it worked, but I knew my husband had tweaked it in the past so when the weekend came I asked him to fix it.  He insisted that nothing needed to be tightened or twisted, but when I went to use it, it fell apart again.  I didn't want to bother him with it because I prefer that he either gets rest or spends time with our son when he can.  Looking closer I found the problem and, once again, had it fixed in just a few minutes. 

 

I'm not usually so quick at being handy, so I can't take all the credit for myself.  I know the Lord has quickened my understanding so I can take care of the things that need to be done.  They may sound like silly examples, but its these experiences that build confidence in myself and let me know that (with the Lords help) I can figure out and handle anything.