Thatch roofed hut in remote north central Ghana

A quarrelsome wife is like the dripping of a leaky roof in a rainstorm; restraining her is like restraining the wind or grasping oil with the hand. – Proverbs 27:15-16

I just returned from a seven week trip to Ghana, and I spent the last couple of days leading 15 students home to Michigan. I have recovered from this second Transatlantic Translocation, and now and I am ready to get back on the water.

I confess I was tempted to skip this water reference and go to the next one. Any passage that starts with …”a quarrelsome wife” is a tricky bit of water to be sure. The water is made even more potentially treacherous by the fact that my wife sometimes reads my blog. If my wife is reading this…I do not consider you in any way a “leaky roof”…I am trusting God to help me run this “rapid”.

Let’s explore this idea of “a quarrelsome wife” first then we can see what she might have in common with a “leaky roof in a rainstorm”. When I think of the word quarrelsome I think of someone who is disagreeable, perhaps someone with Limburger Cheese on their nose or someone who is constantly tearing down her husband rather than building him up. Being disagreeable is different than disagreeing on a given subject or issue.

I think a wise husband seeks the council of his wife in all matters related to their relationship, the family, and even in spiritual matters. She has a perspective that often differs from his own (men are from Mars and women are from Venus) and listening to this perspective can prevent foolish decisions based on feeding our male egos. So what does a quarrelsome or disagreeable wife have in common with a leaky roof?

Roofs are pretty important things. They convert an outdoor space into an indoor space where we can have a reasonable expectation that we will stay dry when rain storms come. A “leaky roof” is not fulfilling the purpose for which it is made. It is not keeping out the rain.

A “quarrelsome wife” has turned away from her role of encouraging and supporting her husband when “rains” come…a “leaky roof”. My wife is great at encouraging and supporting me. She keeps me dry when life’s rains threaten to get me down….a loving doe and graceful deer as Proverbs 5:15-23 put it. In one week my wife and I will be celebrating 28 years of marriage. I am very thankful that God has joined us together on this journey through life.

Prayer: God thank You for my wife and the gift of marriage. Help us to support one another to accomplish Your plan for our lives here on earth.