Increasingly, Jenna’s anger was boiling over at what she was going through. She was even starting to fly off the handle over things she would once have considered insignificant—a toilet seat left up, dirty socks on the floor.

One morning she picked up the phone and began rattling off her complaints to her older sister, Monica. After listening for a few minutes, trying to be supportive, Monica finally said, “It seems to me that the problem isn’t really whether Patrick leaves the toilet seat up. Perhaps one of the issues here is that you need to deal with your anger. I hurt for what you’re feeling, but I just don’t hear anything huge in what you’re telling me about him.”

Jenna protested a bit but finally sighed. “Maybe you’re right. You’re not the first one to tell me that I’ve got a bit of a temper. I never intended to be this way.”

Unfortunately we sometimes treat strangers with more courtesy and kindness than we do our own husbands. We get past the honeymoon stage and feel comfortable, so we let our hair down and stop trying as hard as we did in the beginning of the relationship.

Instead of letting the worst come out, make an effort to show your loved ones the best in you. Pray for God to give you an extra dose of patience, love, and kindness so you can demonstrate His love to those to whom you are closest.