I love being a woman.  I’m not joining the feminist movement, I’m just saying there are certain things about our sex I love, like being able to call up a friend no matter the reason, pour out my feelings and know she’ll love me just the same the next day.  I love the way God designed us to nurture and protect, and most days I even love needing to voice more words than our male counterparts.

For as much as I love each of these things, there is something beyond each of these roles that I once resisted, yet now find peace and comfort in.

Wives, submit yourselves to your husbands, as is fitting in the Lord.”  Colossians 3:18

Whew, you’re still with me.  I feared many would stop right there.  Before we get upset over what might seem to be the backwardness of needing to submit to another, hear me out long enough to relish the great freedom it offers us.

I’m a type-A go-getter.  I get a goal in sight and I don’t let up.  I’m known to control and overtake things.  Bad combination when married to a sweet, quiet man.  Early in our marriage I thought his lack of voice meant I should step up and take over more things (aka, I ran the house and then resented him for it).  Somehow God led me to see the beauty in His design of marriage, including the plan that I step back and allow my husband to take his rightful place as head of the house.

What happened continues to baffle me.  Instead of watching the things I worked so hard to create collapse, my husband took over and did a better job than I ever could have.  He took his position as spiritual leader more seriously and became more concerned about making sure there really was enough money for the month.  And in the process, he allowed me to step into a role that God created for me, part of which is encouraging and supporting this incredible man I’ve been blessed with.  I no longer have to fight to spur him to action, I just watch him take the reigns and enjoy the beautiful by-products as peace and love flourish in our house like never before.

I won’t pretend its always easy or painless, but I will say its so worth the effort.  So what do you say?  Are you in?

My oldest daughter hit double digits this March when she turned 10. Apparently a few years ago I had “promised” that when she turned 10 she could walk down to the neighborhood park without a grown up. What was I thinking? And how can she really be 10?

Shortly after school was out and the warmer weather made an appearance, she reminded me of this right of passage. Reluctantly I kept my word and this week she and her younger sister went to the park for a half hour by themselves. This new adventure came with instructions, however. Well, many instructions.

“Look both ways before you cross AT THE CROSSWALK.”
“Keep your eyes and ears open for strangers and strange activity.”
“Look at your watch, and allow plenty of time to get home before the half-hour is up.”

I even followed them out the door, and gave one more order, “And don’t forget to have fun!!!”

This scenario reminds me of some instructions that Paul gave to the new believers in Colosse.

“Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Colossians 3:15”

It makes me chuckle a little bit when I read the end of this passage. I can almost picture Paul writing this letter. His thoughts are racing faster than he can write. “And by the way, be thankful,” he manages to scribble across the page.

I don’t know about you, but I find that when my life is in a tizzy and peace is the furthest thing from my mind, so is thankfulness. I often find myself pleading with the Lord to restore peace in my life. I complain to Him about my anxious thoughts, but rarely in the midst of that do I think about what I’m thankful for.

Paul understood though. In the midst of house arrest, he was thankful. In the midst of dealing with quarreling church people, he was thankful. In the midst of broken relationships, he was thankful. Perhaps Paul figured out that peace and thankfulness go together. You can’t have one without the other. Just like you can’t go to the park with newly acquired freedom and independence and not have fun.