It's Okay Not To Be Right

I am getting ready to head to bed.

Ephesians Chapter 4:26-27
“In your anger do not sin”; Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold.

I know, the sun is already down, but I am going to take it more as "do not go to sleep while I am still angry".  Well, maybe not angry, but more like "there is a wall of misunderstanding and hurt feelings that needs to come down". 

It all started with a car. A little black Honda. An older car that has had some work done to it, but other than the little blurb in my work Classifieds, I didn't know much more. I sent the information to Leo and to Amy, who is soon going to be an official driver and in need of wheels.

I am the first person to admit that I don't know much about cars. I care more about how it looks, the color and if it has a decent radio/CD player. Leo cares more about the other stuff that I am clueless about. Suspension. Exhaust systems. Aluminum do-hickeys.

So I don't know why I was so insulted when he questioned the character of the car, why I was offended that he wanted Amy to be careful and not jump at it just because the price seemed right. I think I felt like because it was a car I picked as a potential for Amy, and not him, it didn't count. That I was stupid to even suggest it.

My feelings got hurt. Sigh.

We didn't really argue. He heard me tell Amy that "I don't know why Dad doesn't want to look at it" and so he just came downstairs to explain why. I tried to explain back why I felt that his assumption that the car would be decked out in lime-green wheels and painted in primer, belonging to an irresponsible teenager made me feel like I couldn't contribute to the "Car Search for Amy" thus ultimately saying I was stupid when it came to cars.

*Note that he didn't say I was stupid, I did.
*Note that he told me to go look at it, but to remember how short on time we are the next two weeks as the wedding draws close.
*Note that he didn't roll his eyes, smirk, or gesture at me behind my back.
*He simply was making some valid points, and since he knows cars, they truly were valid points.

Sometimes I just need to listen. I am not always right. It's okay to not always be proving a point, to prove that I am right. Will I ever learn?  He was making sense, and this time, he was right.
So, even though we didn't technically shout, get insulting, pull hair and bite, I need to go let Leo know that I love him, that I'm listening to his opinion and that it matters. He matters.

And really, for right now, that's all that matters.

Love,
Dianne