Tomatoes & Communication

   God has a sense of humor.  I know this because He created marriage.  I am sure that He smiles every time He leads a man and a woman together, prompts them to make forever vows, and blesses them with all the responsibilities and joys that come with marriage.  I am sure that occasionally He rolls with laughter on the floor of Heaven as He watches us try to communicate.
   Oh, don't get me wrong, He isn't laughing at us, He is laughing with us.  He loves us too much to make sport of us.  After all, He gave us the ultimate sacrifice in His one and only Son.  No, no, He laughs with us.
   Have you ever argued with your man (or woman) for a few minutes (or 45 minutes) only to find out that you really were on the same page to begin with?  So what were you arguing about?  Who knows? 
   God takes a man who has blue hearing aids, and a woman, who has pink hearing aids and puts us together and teaches us to get along.  It is perhaps one of the most frustrating things about marriage. 
    The other day my farmer, out of the goodness of his heart, came to help me can tomato juice.  I was ecstatic to have help with a job that I really do not enjoy.  What a good man I have!
   I had an opinion about the tomatoes that should go into the juice.  I like 'em really ripe and red.  He had opinion about the tomatoes that should go into the juice.  He just wanted to get 'em done.  We proceeded to speak in tones of agitation.  Over tomatoes of all crazy things!  
   As a true red blooded woman, I recalled past disagreements (that really didn't have any bearing on the present tiff) and brought them to his attention.  Like the manly man he is, he shut down.  As a woman, this made me boil.  It's a crazy cycle.  He felt disrespected.  I felt ignored.  Folks, did I mention that this was over tomatoes? 
   So the conclusion of the matter was this... we were actually on the same page to begin with!  Can  you believe it!  So we agreed to agree and happily canned tomatoes together.  I was thankful for his help, and thoroughly enjoyed his presence. 
   He was hearing through blue hearing aids.  I was speaking in pink tones.  He often speaks in blue tones and I hear with my pink hearing aids.  God made us this way... on purpose!  So is His sense of humor sick or what?  I think it's the "or what".
   You know what I learned through this?  Can't figure my man out unless I call on the One who created the man.  I think God designed it this way so that we would rely on Him.  I don't like to have to stop and call on God for help.  It takes time, and I wanna get this resolved NOW! 
   I also don't like the idea of humbling myself to admit that I am part of the problem.  After I let my pride go, and quit rehashing the past, I was able to go beg pardon and happily can tomatoes with my hubby. 
   So my point?  My communication skills need some work.  Humbling myself is necessary and it's not about being right or wrong.  It's about what God wants to teach me.  Yikes!  I'm sure that I will forget from time to time.  I'm not perfect, but I am working towards it.  God says that He is there and willing to perfect me.  Just gotta call out for help!  I'm learning!!!!!!

*The analogy of the pink and blue hearing aids was borrowed from the book, "Love and Respect" by Emerson Eggerichs.  As was the term "crazy cycle".  Good book, you should read it! ;)