When my husband, Chris, used to call me to tell me he’d be home later than expected, I would make sure I let him know of my disappointment. I would muster up everything in me in order to project the biggest and loudest sigh over the telephone followed by a whatever.

Good one, Cindy. That’ll make him rush home.

My first response was never about the strain he must have felt not only having to work longer, but then knowing he’d get the 3rd degree from me when he called to tell me of his plans. It took some time but eventually, I wised up.

I don’t know if it has been the fact that I am getting older or because I don’t want to make him feel bad for something that he usually cannot control or simply due to my desire to make his homecoming pleasant.

And that is what I work so hard to do.

I’ve learned after being in full-time ministry for 14 years that something always comes up. It just does. And instead of working my magic and using every manipulation trick in the box, I simply say, “Okay, baby. Looking forward to seeing you when you get home.”

And boy, if that man of mine, who is singlehandedly bringing sexy back by riding his scooter while saving money on gasoline, doesn’t rush his little self home to lay a nice, juicy kiss on my lips.

A nagging spouse is like the drip, drip, drip of a leaky faucet; You can’t turn it off, and you can’t get away from it. Proverbs 27:15-16 (MSG)

Turn off the faucet and turn on the understanding.

Trust me.

Cindy is a stay-at-home mom who spends most of her days caring for the men in her life. In addition to that, she loves to write, watch HGTV, enjoys college football and loves to sit on the back porch sipping coffee with her husband. Cindy’s calling is to mentor women and help them walk through difficult times as they seek to follow Christ. She uses her passion for writing and her gift of exhortation to accomplish this on her personal blog, www.cindybeall.com.