Molly Routon, Director of Global Education Partnerships for Peacemaker Ministries has posted some needed practical advice at least for my relationship.  Oh only if we were more aware of how impatient we were.

Routon writes:

I had a great conversation today with Greg, whose office is next to mine.  He was talking about advice for marriage and said that the biggest piece of advice he gives to newlyweds is “Patience.”  He said, “You should have the word ‘Patience’ plastered all over your house.  That’s one of the key things that will help keep the pickle jar being on the top shelf in the fridge instead of in the door from becoming a big deal.”

Kind of gives another useful angle to the “Pause Principle,” huh?  Forget trying to remember all the words of the acronym.  Just pause! (As an aside, I think this fruit of the Spirit is closely linked to “Getting the Log Out” and “Overlook” on the Slippery Slope.)

Greg’s point is that having a little patience – recognizing that we are often wired to react to everything right away, but that a few moments of contemplating if it’s worth getting so worked up about – can resolve a lot of conflicts before they even start.  In fact, here was his precise comment: “You can really reduce the number of conflicts in your marriage if you’re not in the full-time business of starting them.”