Little Foxes

This morning I was reading in Song of Solomon and came across this verse that got me thinking:

¹⁵ Catch for us the foxes, the little foxes that ruin the vineyards, our vineyards that are in bloom.

Think about this. In a marriage, or any relationship for that matter, there should be some positive result. Husbands should love their wives and wives should respect their husbands. Friends should share joy, pain, secrets, hopes and dreams with each other and at the very least, make each other feel cared for. When relationships are cared for, the people in them bloom, just like a vineyard blooms when it's cared for.

What we all see practically everywhere we look, are dead or dying relationships (vineyards). How do they get that way? People ignored the "little foxes". You see, big foxes eat the grapes because they can reach them. That makes for an obvious problem. Big foxes in relationships are obvious - abuse, affairs, financial problems, constant arguing and fighting. But little foxes are easy to ignore. We think they're harmless, even cute, and assume they can't do any damage. The reality is they do more because they chew at the roots.

So many of us have little foxes in our relationships that we live with because we don't realize how dangerous they are. We have a disagreement and rather than trying to be understood, we give up trying to explain how we feel because we think it's easier than arguing. Little fox. We know we don't have the money, but it's on sale, we really want it and think "it's my money anyway." Little fox. We notice the response from somebody other than our spouse when we make a joke, wear certain clothes or flirt. Little fox. We think we can justify our actions by our feelings - I was just angry. I was just trying to be nice. I was just lonely. I just felt like you didn't care. Little foxes.

It's time we not only catch, but kill the little foxes before they grow up into big foxes. It's time to take action to protect your marriage, protect your relationships. You might feel pretty stupid and look even dumber chasing it around, but if you don't, it won't bite you - it'll ruin your relationship. Not so cute now are they?