A voice from the pantry asked, “Jul, did you mean to get the crunchy kind?” I turned to see a jar of Nutella (okay … the store brand) extended toward me in Jeff’s outstretched hand.
“Oh, no! How could I do that?” In our house, we don’t do crunchy. It’s different than our usual, not what we always choose, and a change from our regular. We’ve been shopping for “creamy” for a quarter of a century!
How do you respond to differences you encounter? Are you open to new ways of doing things, or do you react by complaining or correcting? When it comes to the men around us, they bring “different” into our days. Different habits, different body language, different instincts, different sounds, different size, different mannerisms, different choices. You name it, and males we know are different than females. After all, “male and female He created them,” (Genesis 1:27). God made male female differences on purpose, and He glories in the variety of our uniqueness. Our differences display the creativity of the Creator Himself.
When faced with male female differences, resist the urge to:
- Roll your eyes in disgust & convey disdain for the difference
- Verbally put him down & treat the difference like a problem
- Use sarcasm to mock & shame him into changing
- Bully him into trying to be like a woman
In my country, a lot of boys and men will watch the Super Bowl today, and some of their differences will really stand out. The Super Bowl has a way of bringing out loud shouting, fist pumping, and plate heaping, among other things. Non-football lovers have their own “big day” at a different time of year. Rather than being frustrated or simply tolerant of the way your guy plays or talks or plans or helps or cleans or chews or whatever gets under your skin … ENJOY him!
As we enjoy male female differences for the variety they bring, we accept and celebrate God’s creative hand at work. And who knows … a little “crunchy” might be just the thing our pantry needs?
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