Wife in Its Proper Place

After attending the Weekend To Remember Marriage Conference, God gave me so much to pray about.  As I thought about being sure our marriage was in the proper place amongst our every day priorities, I began to pray to God to show me the proper place for my ministry as Gus' wife and as mom to Ryan and Zachary.  Just like many wives today, I tend to put my children first when it is my husband that should take the next place after God.  Oh, how I fail at that!  Usually my husband gets the leftovers of my time, energy, and love each day and if there are no leftovers, then he doesn't get anything at all.  So how am I going to support his new ministry, when I fail at being a support to him now?  Only the Lord can give that kind of strength and guidance.

I turn to Proverbs 31 - one of my favorite passages of scripture - and the book of Ruth. The virtuous wife is a description of the kind of wife a woman should strive to be.  A wife is an efficient and organized homemaker; always watching over her home. She has a forever commitment to her husband and would never do anything to bring dishonor to his name. Verse 28 says "her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her."  The praise from family is meaningful because they are the ones that observe her in every situation and truly know her character.  It is difficult to admit how often I do things that please others before I do those things that are a blessing to my husband and children.   In the book of Ruth, I love 1:16,17. Although she says it to her mother-in-law, it is a wonderful commitment to my husband: "Entreat me not to leave you, or to turn back from following after you; for wherever you go, I will go; and wherever you lodge, I will lodge; your people shall be my people, and your God,  my God. Where you die, I will die, and there will I be buried. The Lord do so to me, and more also, if anything but death parts you and me."  I am especially feeling this passage as my husband leads me away from the state I have lived in all my life and from the place I have lived over 20 years!

Gus would be the first to admit that he likes our roles to be like those that for most today would be considered "old fashioned".  He likes to be the spiritual leader, provider, and protector of his family. It pleases him beyond measure to come home to dinner, a clean and neat home, and a wife that wants to hear about his day.  I have to say "I dig" that about him!  It pleases me beyond measure to do these things for him.  But I have to admit that since we started homeschooling almost two years ago, I have let most of that fall to the wayside and the management of my home - or the lack thereof - and the pleasing of my husband has fallen to the wayside.  Thank the Lord he is a God whose strength can be renewed in me each new day. Thank the Lord for a husband who is understanding, forgiving, and wonderful at fulfilling his role!  I greatly desire to get back to my "old fashioned" role!

One book I love is "Passionate Housewives Desperate for God" by Jennie Chancey and Stacy McDonald.  I was drawn to it from the beginning because it used the word "housewife". Does any woman like to be called a housewife anymore?  How about a homemaker? I love those two words and strive to be able to feel worthy of being called those once again!  I end this post with one of my favorite passages from this book:


"Homemaking isn't about starched aprons, pearls, and high heels.  It's about doing the will of God even when the world scoffs. It's about loving the high calling that God especially has given to women. It's about learning to trust when circumstances would tell us to doubt and fear. We are called to be different - not conformed to the pattern of this world but transformed by Christ (Romans 12:2). We are to live in such a way that others may have hope. When we trust in the Lord and submit to His design for  marriage, family, home, and church, then our homemaking accomplishes far more than just making homes. It has the power to impact countless lives and generations for the glory of God."