Wives...

First, thank you to my dear friends who sent me your thoughts yesterday! They were very helpful and made me so thankful for the army of Godly people in my life. I hope to have even more time to study this passage along with your comments soon!

Today, I forged on to the rest of chapter 5. "Wives and Husbands." Until recent months, I have skipped over any passage like this that has to do with marriage, for a number of reasons. The obvious one, I'm not married. And also because I know what it says, and frankly I don't love it..

Verse 22 says "Wives, submit to your own husbands as to the Lord, (23) for the husband is head of the wife as also Christ is head of the church." One look at that, and I'm running the other way sometimes! My pastor preached a sermon on this not too long ago, and I leaned over to my friend Kristy and said, "I'm never getting married." We both laughed of course, but I do know that I need to be submissive to the person that God places in my life for marriage.

My pride gets in the way. I'm too selfish for love and submission sometimes. I have always had it in mind to be a very strong, independent woman that can do anything a man can do, and probably do it better! I hate the way women are portrayed in the media, so I want to do what I can to fight it and succeed in a male industry and have a little pride in myself. But is that what God wants for women? Is my goal of being a strong and successful woman wrong? Can I keep that goal and that mindset and still be a submissive wife?

So, it's obvious that I need to make some changes! Though I am not married, I hope to be in the not so distant future, and my husband deserves a wife that will submit to him. I am challenging myself to pour over the scripture and learn what God's view of a wife is. I also have some amazing examples of Godly women in my life to look to. My mom is such a wonderful example of a loving, caring, yet strong, wife and mother. Dan's mother, Lacey, is also another beautiful role model. When I walk into their living room, she often has her Bible out reading, and it makes smile. Thank you God for the wonderful examples of wives you have placed in my life.

So again, I'm asking for some help. To all of you married women, how do you do it? What makes your marriage work? I know that if I continually seek Him, God will show me and will give me the ability to become a submissive and loving wife.

Also, I want to say a huge congrats to all my recently engaged friends and to my sister, who will be getting married in May! I will be praying that God will bless your marriages and that you will strive to be the women God want you to be.

P.S. Mom, I know you need some recovery time after Allison's wedding. Don't worry! :)