By JANET HART LEONARD
From the Hart
I have always wondered why 1 Corinthians 13:4 starts with “Love is patient and kind.”
While Paul, the Apostle and writer to the Corinthians, may have never been married, he might have had a glimpse of married life through the marriages of those to whom he brought the Good News.
Patience and kindness go hand in hand. In marriage, it may go heart to heart.
Chuck and I might be old enough to be set in our ways. Maybe, just a bit.
I have a certain way I like my towels folded. It makes them look pretty, when stacked in the cabinet. Chuck says it’s complicated.
Chuck thinks butter must be spread on the bread or bun of every sandwich. I ask why. His response: “Because it makes the sandwich taste better.”
He learned to fold the towels – my way.
I learned to always butter his bread.
We keep it simple. We keep it kind.
When Chuck folded the towels in a different way than I did, I didn’t tell him he was wrong. I kindly told him it wasn’t the way it needed to be done. He laughed. “Yes, dear, I guess I have a lot to learn.”
And so, did I.
I learned his “on time” is 10 minutes early, so I plan accordingly.
While I may not have learned to play golf, I have learned to love watching the tournaments with him. I have learned a new language. Eagle. Birdie. Bogey. D*#N Double Bogey. Mink Stole.
Mink Stole. It’s when you hit a good drive. He calls it a mink stole because, it goes a “fur” piece. That’s the humor I am blessed to live with.
We laugh – a lot.
Oh, and back to the butter. When we first married, he noticed the way I took the butter out of the tub. He called it strange. We were eating chips and salsa when he mentioned it. I laughed so hard the tears ran down my cheeks. There was no butter on the table, and he just randomly told me his thoughts.
Much of what we say and do is random.
We get in the car and go for a Sunday evening drive. I say to him, “Have I told you lately?” No mention of love, just the question. He knows.
I tell him I’ll be ready in five minutes. He knows that means 15. I tell him my car has 58 miles to empty. He returns from the gas station and lets me know it was 28 miles to empty. I remind him that I was never good at math. He was a math/history teacher.
He asks me if I remember when John F. Kennedy was shot. I was in the second grade. I was home from school with the measles. I remember Walter Cronkite announcing it on the TV. Chuck was teaching at Belzer Junior High School. He remembers it being announced over the PA system.
So many ways in which we are different and yet, our hearts blend the differences well. We always try to add kindness and patience along with a little humor.
I wouldn’t change a thing about my husband. Well, except the way he takes the butter out of the tub. At least he spreads it with kindness and is patient with me as I take it out the right way.