Monday, October 8, 2012

To Love, Honor, & Match Socks

I'm finally sitting down to write you. I've been folding socks, and putting away piles of stuff that were collecting everywhere. I feel so much better. I had planned to write you before I did my housework, but my husband came home and finally mentioned a basket of socks that I have been meaning to match for about 3 months! I'm not kidding, I wish I was!
In the summer our sock need goes down so much, we somehow managed to live with the few socks left in the drawers! Then I was all ready to sit down and write you when my husband returned for lunch and suggested I clean out all my stuff in my daughter's room! If I'm going to practice what I preach, I needed to do that before I blogged to you. And do you know what? I'm so much happier now that I've gotten those two monkeys off my back.


I have to be honest with you. When my husband first suggests something like that, I want to say, "No way! That's not important, I have this to do and that to do and I just gotta get this other thing done!" And sadly, I do react like that! But don't copy me in that, I need to change my attitude and trust that God is in this thing that I don't like hearing and I need to yield to God's way in my life! And you know what? I would never ever clean those piles until someone made me do it! I can always think of something else to do because I would rather do something else.

What's more important is if I had of blogged to you first after knowing what would please my husband and then my not doing it, I'd be blowing my witness to you. Then there would be no point in my blogging to you.

You know women are often saying they don't really know what submission means, but I think we really do. We submit all the time to the local laws, and the police and other authorities. We understand what submission means the problem is we really don't want to! If we're really honest, we want to do what we want to do, don't we?

Now don't go thinking well Juana's husband should have folded those socks himself! He gladly helps with laundry, and I sometimes hear him just throwing a load in on his own. But I want that role. I think it really helps to have clear roles so that husbands and wives have a well-run home without wondering who should be doing what.

My husband is our provider, and takes very good care of our whole family. He is trying to make a living, and I don't have to worry about that (I do pray for him, his appointments and contacts and for the deal to go through, etc!) I get to live in a cozy house because my husband is very good to me and best of all—he loves God more than he loves me! That's a good thing! He knows he doesn't have to answer to me, he has to answer to God for the kind of husband and father he is.

I'm speaking Thursday night—and this ties right in with seeing God in everything (thank you for your prayers! We are recording it so I can share highlights with you.). We need to see God in our spouse (I'll also be talking to you singles, too... seeing God in your singleness! And to the parents... seeing God in your children!) For most of us, God has given us husbands. Christ want us to serve our husbands and as we do—we are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

"Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.’ " (Matthew 25:37-40) 

In another passage Jesus gives us the conditions for being a disciple.

He says, if you want to be my disciple, you must deny yourself.

Self-denial.

That goes against everything in our culture.

But if we want to be a servant, and serve the Lord Jesus, he says we must deny ourselves, take up the cross and follow him.

When we walk down the aisle, we take on a new name. We may have leave our area and where we grew up. For missionaries, they may have to move overseas. We give up our privacy when we marry. We give up making unilateral decisions because now where there was one there are two. Marriage is the ultimate example of denying yourself and taking up of the cross.

I know what you may be thinking. Juana, how in the world is matching the socks got anything to do with being a Christian? It has everything to do with being a Christian. God can take anything that is offered to him and make it a gateway to joy.

It is in the seemingly little things and in the huge things right where we live that Christ wants to meet us and transform us. Taking up of the cross means accepting suffering in any tiny or big way. It means giving up my right to myself (my time, what I wanted to do, etc) because there are things I want that I'm not going to have. There are things that irritate me if I am married that I am not allowed to be irritated by. He wants us to say my life for yours, just as He did. He is our supreme example.

If we insist on equality, we are going to miss the divine order.

Do you want to follow him wholeheartedly?

May God help us to be different kind of a women, because we are a Christian women.

"Then Jesus said to his disciples, 'If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.' " ~Matthew 16:24
Walk by Faith,

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