Check in the Bank

The Book of Ron · 40 of 48 · 2 minute read

One day I was at work. We were grading the garage and the concrete trucks were already in the driveway getting ready to pour.

That morning before I left, I had asked Cheryl to make sure a check I had received got into the bank. I was paying a subcontractor and had to transfer the money so his check would clear. I told her it needed to be done by 11 o’clock. The subcontractor was going to the bank at 11 to cash the check and then he had to leave town. I had made a commitment to him and was even advancing him some money.

About 10:30 the phone rang.

It was Cheryl.

She said, “You’ve got to come home right now. It’s amazing. There’s a squirrel in the backyard hanging upside down from the wire and swinging. He’s trying to figure out how to jump over to the bird feeder.”

I explained that I couldn’t. The concrete trucks were in the driveway and we were in the middle of the pour. She was disappointed, but she understood.

Before hanging up I asked, “Is the check in the bank yet?”

“No, not yet. I’m going to put my makeup on and then I’ll go.”

At that moment my frustration grew. The check had to be there by 11 o’clock. I now had to call the subcontractor. He had to delay leaving town or wherever he was going. The entire plan was suddenly in jeopardy.

I went back to working with the concrete trucks.

The day went on. Nothing catastrophic occurred. The plan simply had to be altered.

But throughout the day I was frustrated and angry. As I worked, I wrestled with the Lord about it. I prayed about it. I replayed the phone call in my mind. My frustration had been obvious over the phone. We had not hung up in anger, but she knew I was upset. She was still going to get to the bank.

And then the Lord spoke to my heart.

“This is how I crafted her personality. She is my child. You’re just her husband. Leave it alone.”

At that moment I understood something important. Cheryl had a dramatic difference in personality from me. There was nothing wrong with it whatsoever. I called it childlike, not in a degrading way, but in the amazement of how she viewed the world through a child’s eyes.

In truth, I was envious.

I was not brought up that way.

Somehow those two personalities should have balanced each other and blessed each other’s lives. But at that time I did not have the wisdom I have now. I did not carry the wound of divorce yet. If I had, maybe I would have understood more. Maybe I could have bridged that gap.

I say this for a reason.

Two personalities can exist together. They can complement each other. It was not that we were opposites. We were equally yoked. We believed in the Lord. We cared deeply. We were kind people. We helped others. We did many good things together.

We simply did not know how to bridge the gap in our personalities.

This story has a workbook — how to use it with the person across from you, and the point of it. Read the workbook for Check in the Bank · All the workbooks.