It seems a recent trend is for people to offer up their “hot takes,” or strong, personal opinions that many others tend to disagree with. While I have plenty of these that I could offer up, one that I’m most passionate about is that I don’t complain about my husband.
First of all, I think complaint culture is out of control. It seems we tend to glorify the pity or compete for who’s “worse off,” oftentimes brought about by how easy it is to chronicle every little thing on social media and revel in the responses. It can be so toxic and negative that I’ve found myself in a bad mood after scrolling and not realizing why until later. Or we all know someone who can be called a “Negative Nancy,” and talking to them for 30 seconds makes you want to walk away before you have a scowl for the rest of the day.
Now I know that venting with friends can be super helpful and liberating in some instances. With the stressors that women and moms feel on a daily basis, it’s easy to want to get everything off your chest in a rage-induced run-on sentence. But I have always been one to respect and honor the sanctity of my marriage. This doesn’t mean that my husband and I have perfect communication or a marriage without struggles. It also doesn’t mean that I don’t complain about my husband TO my husband. But if we have an issue with something, it’s not long before we work on it together. I won’t take that issue to an outside party and rag on my husband. And I definitely wouldn’t post it online for the world to see.
My husband and I have talked about how it’s upsetting when a friend or coworker spends so much energy complaining about their spouse or partner. Usually, it seems that what they’re saying is a recurring issue or should be worked out in private.
I often pray about this and try my darnedest to be a Proverbs 31-type woman. I want my marriage to set high standards for my children and them to see me love their dad in every act and word. I want God to shine through in our marriage and for us to continue growing in love (as cheesy as that sounds) with each passing day.
So while I may have my “Negative Nancy” moments, you’ll never find me complaining about my husband.