Doing a Little Research

I don’t think any of the Back 9 readers would go to a foreign country for the first time without doing a little research. You would want to find out about the culture, the climate, decide where to stay, which attractions to see, and have some way to communicate and navigate the language barriers. I would think you would certainly have to look at a map and the currency exchange rate as well. All these things would have to be studied and planned for you to really enjoy the trip!!! Stop to think about this!!! We do a lot of work to go on a week, two week or a month’s trip. Why in the world, if you were getting married, would you not want to understand the map of the opposite sex??? I believe anyone would value a lifetime commitment over a trip, wouldn’t you agree??

On the Back 9, looking back, I didn’t know or understand the vast differences between men and women, except for the obvious ones learned from experience. But now that I know what I know, one of the first things I would have our kids do before tying the knot is to seek out marriage counseling. I so desire to impart to them the knowledge I have gained from experience and from wise counsel! You can probably guess from reading these journals which child has already read all the books I have on relationships??? Collins of course.

Statistics show that women read, on average, 75% more as adults than men do. And women read 95% more than men on relationship advice! I know there are men reading this journal right now who aren’t big on doing a lot of reading about relationships although you do care about relationships, marriage and your kids relationships. Find a way to seek out that knowledge and learn more about relationships. I would say to all the readers–healthy relationships are what can make or break your life on this earth………. Don’t be an “ALIEN” in your relationships!!!! In the age of information there is NO EXCUSE for ignorance, especially on this topic! The only reason for choosing to remain ignorant is the pride of thinking you know it all! Trust me! There is so much to learn!!! I certainly don’t know it all but I have a desire to learn and to have STRONG, HEALTHY RELATIONSHIPS. I am challenging you to learn as well.

Did you know that males and females handle spatial tasks differently? Spatial tasks are the ability to picture in 3-D the shape, dimensions, coordinates, position, location, proportions, movement and geography of an object. Processing spatial tasks involves being able to mentally rotate the object, reverse it, fly in, through it, around it, or turn it inside out. Reading a road map, navigating an obstacle course, or visualizing a topographical map are all spatial skills. Without getting into the details of the differences in the male and female brain (you can google it for the science), only about 10% of women have spatial abilities that are as good as the average male. So what does this mean for us??????

“It is, for instance, true that most women cannot read a map as well as a man. But women can read a character better. And people are more important than maps. (The male mind, at this point, will probably immediately think there is an exception to this….)……The best argument for the acknowledgement of these differences is that doing so would probably make us happier.” Anne Malr, PhD.

Women, this knowledge should help us to back off when our husband seems to us to move in and out of traffic in a dangerous way. He sees it and navigates it better than we do based on his God-given spatial ability. We might say………”Honey, I would be more comfortable if you drove a little slower.”

Men, realize women see things differently when it comes to spatial tasks and try not to scare us! Haha! Remember too, with our God-given desire to communicate and relate to others, trust us when we have a “read on character!”

God-given differences in spatial skills and how we relate provide explanation as to why we act and react like we do! Of course, we can have sin wrapped up in there too! But understanding our God-given design can benefit us all tremendously!!! With knowledge comes wisdom. Seek both!

Proverbs 1:7, “The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge but fools despise wisdom and instruction.”

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