I've been putting this post off, unsure of how I should finish it. But any conclusion is better than not having one right? I encourage you to read Created to be His Helpmeet and The Excellent Wife and Passionate Housewives Desperate for God. The authors not only have more experience but can say it a lot better than I ever can.
So, how was I going to put this thing called "submission" into effect? That was the tough question I had to ponder.
First things first, I let my husband be the leader of our family.
Sounds simple enough, but how many of us really do it? I was willing to let my husband "lead" if he was leading the way I thought he should. I was quick to criticize and judge.
I won't lie, this first step, the step of letting go was.......hard.
Everything in my sinful nature screamed, "No! Don't do it! He doesn't know what he's doing! He will take advantage of the situation! You'll be a doormat!"
Doormat. How I hate that term. And I hate it because I've heard it so often.
As in, "She doesn't stand up to her husband. She's just a doormat."
Please don't confuse following your husband's lead with pretending your husband is God. That is not what submission is about. God is God. He is over you and your husband. You must follow God first and then the husband he has given you to follow. In matters that are apparently against God, who do you follow? God, people, you follow God!
Okay, I got off on a little bit of a tangent. Ahem. Sorry, back to your regularly scheduled post............
I believe the problem many of us have with trusting our husbands to lead our family does not lie with our husbands but our seeming inability to trust God. Letting God be Lord over every aspect of your life is something that is not only best for you but required by the Word.
It all boils down to: Do you trust God? The answer can not be "Yes, but......" or "Yes except for...." Not to say that at times it won't be a struggle, I fail at putting all my trust in God quite frequently, but He's always there to remind me that He is Lord.
Do you allow God to be the Lord of your life? That is what submission is all about.
Sorry I rushed through this post, I had imagined something far more detailed. Perhaps I'll revisit the subject with more tips on how to actually show honor to our husbands. Right now my mind is full of other topics: child discipline, elder care, sacrificing for others, and the most wonderful.....baptism. How gracious is the Lord that He called my husband and I to follow him mostly at the same time. how wonderful that we are to be baptized, a physical sign of the washing of our sins by the grace of Jesus Christ. "Blessed be the Lord, who daily bears our burden, the od who is our salvation" Psalms 68:19
Good post Melodie. You really said it so well here. I really thought I had the whole biblical submission thing down, but lately I've been struggling with letting my husband be the head of our household and and treating him with respect in my mind (as well as outwardly). Oh, it's so easy to let little resentments creep in and before you know it there's a full-blown storm brewing.
ReplyDeleteAlso, I wanted to wish you well on your upcoming baptism. What a day of celebration! Also, I'm wondering if your grandmother has made the move into your house and how everything is going.
Thank you so much for the well wishes! I am so excited about it but nervous too!
ReplyDeleteMy grandmother moved in about 2 weeks ago now. Things are going far better than I expected. I'll be posting a lot on the subject since it seems so hard to find information on caring for the elderly in your home.
You are so correct about the resentment creeping in. I find myself battling with the same thing very often, especially with everything in our culture bombarding us with misinformation on how to treat our husbands.
Have loved reading your posts even though I haven't blogged much lately. : )
I just found your blog via, um . . . I don't recall. I've been hopping all over the blog world this morning. :)
ReplyDeleteBut I wanted to let you know how much I appreciated this post. Especially this part:
I believe the problem many of us have with trusting our husbands to lead our family does not lie with our husbands but our seeming inability to trust God. Letting God be Lord over every aspect of your life is something that is not only best for you but required by the Word.
It all boils down to: Do you trust God? The answer can not be "Yes, but......" or "Yes except for...."
It's so true! If God is in control, and He works for the good of those who love Him, then why, oh why, would we need to worry over our husbands' decisions?
Additionally, I think we need to remember what an incredible responsibility our men must feel as the family heads. It's a lot easier to point out mistakes and fret over "not-what-I-wanted" decisions when you're not the one with all the responsibility!
Thank you for sharing. It was an encouragement. :)