Love is a Gentle Nudge

Love is...... A gentle nudge to stop my husband from snoring instead of shoving him clean out of the bed. And here’s why.

The clock now reads 1:30AM. "How long have I been lying here?" I wonder as I count back to when I first crawled in bed. “11:30, 12:30, 1:30, UGH! It’s been three hours!”

By this time my husbands snoring is doing a bit more than mildly grating on my nerves. The last three hours have included a multitude of tactical maneuvers which by now should qualify me for the Secret Service. It went down something like this.

At first, I softly brushed my foot against my husband’s leg, hoping it would wake him only enough to change his snoring to a light purr. After multiple attempts and thirty minutes pass, I decide the maneuver is a failure. Onward, I move to the next tactic.

With my foot, I lightly push on his calf. I retreat quickly, pretending like I did nothing, just in case he wakes completely. I proceed for the next hour, pushing randomly on different parts of his legs. Sometimes harder and occasionally multiple pushes during the same occurrence. This seems to work for short bursts but not long enough for me to fall into slumber.

Frustrated, I retreat to the living room for a small break. I surf the internet a while and check some emails. Half hour later and a little more optimistic, back to bed I go. This time I will sleep, I assured myself. Crawling back into bed I realize the snoring has gotten louder! I sigh loudly, toss and turn with exaggerated motion, bouncing the whole bed for effect. Doesn’t seem to phase him, he’s still snoring, louder than ever now.

Time for stronger tactics I decide. This time, I will use my hands. Firmly, yet lovingly I rub my hand against his back and right at the end I push slightly. Nothing happens. Through the next hour I use a variety of touches, rubs and nudges only to eventually, once again, fail miserably. As with the foot technique, some attempts with the hands also work temporarily. None though, for long enough to allow sleep to come.

Now we are at the pinnacle of frustration. “Do I shove?” Is the question running through my mind. “If I push really hard he will fall out of the bed and have to stop snoring.” I think. As I prepare my feet to push squarely in the middle of his back I realize just what I am about to do. “What am I thinking?” I ask myself. It’s amazing what sleep deprivation and a high level of frustration will push a person to consider doing.

After some thought and I believe what was probably was the Holy Spirit screaming at me STOP, I came to my full senses and realized there was a much more loving response to the whole situation. I was reminded right then of the scripture in I Corinthians 13 that tells us love is patient, love is kind…. So I decided to do something I should have done hours ago. I gently leaned over, put my hand on my husbands shoulder and whispered “Honey, roll over your snoring”. Immediately, he rolled over and the snoring stopped.

Now that’s love!