Sometimes what you say and what other people hear can be two very different things.
Maybe you can relate to a young mother from Ohio who wanted her family to be a beacon of hope during the COVID lockdown. She handed chalk to her two boys – ages six and eight – and asked them to write messages on the driveway. She wanted delivery drivers and passersby to be greeted with encouragement and good cheer. Later, when she checked on her kids’ progress, she discovered boys had covered the driveway and sidewalks with messages like, “Stay away!” “Do not enter!” and “Get lost!”
Misunderstandings like that happen a lot in marriage, too.