Musings on Marriage

Month: August 2014

Jesus, Friend of Women

Dear Daughters,

          Last time I wrote only about the Introduction of the book, Sacred Influence.  Changing me was such a new concept and very different to my way of thinking that it took (and still is taking) time and prayer to reverse that mindset.Sacred In

In Chapter 1 Gary Thomas starts by saying that husbands like to brag about their wives.  They may not say it to you, but they notice your strengths and are eager to tell others about your business acumen, social skills, intelligence, athletic ability, culinary talents – whatever it is that you do well.  But far more important than these skills is your spiritual core.  This is what will give you strength to be the godly change agent in your marriage.

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Did you know that the Bible speaks very highly of women?  In Genesis, right from the start, God created male and female so together we could mirror the image of God.  Either gender alone is unable to adequately represent His character and image.  Women are not simply told to cheer for the men, we are together given the mandate to rule, subdue, and manage this earth, which is a radical statement for any century and any culture in our world.

The next section in the chapter– Jesus, Friend of Women – was fascinating.  In Matthew 1, the genealogy of Jesus includes women: Rahab the prostitute, Ruth, Bathsheba (with whom King David committed adultery), and Mary the mother of Jesus.  In those days it was typically only men who were named in genealogies.  So the amazing thing is that not only did God include women, but that several women had less than stellar backgrounds.

In our culture we have the notion that it is necessary to tear down men to lift up women, but it is remarkable to realize how often the men who surrounded Jesus just didn’t get it while the women did.  Wherever He went He affirmed women when others disdained them.  One time Jesus was having dinner with a religious professional when a prostitute walked in and washed Jesus’ feet with her tears, drying them with her hair.  The man was appalled, but Jesus chided the man and praised the woman because she understood who Jesus was.   Another time a woman poured costly perfume all over Jesus’ head and the disciples grumbled that it was a waste, but Jesus said, “Leave her alone, she has done a beautiful thing to me.”  Then again when Jesus was hanging on the cross, only one out of the twelve male disciples came to watch, but “many women” dared to come and be with Jesus’ during His last suffering moments. Butterflies4

Perhaps the most incredible example of all is after He died and rose again. Who were the first to talk to the angels at the grave, and then later meet Jesus face to face?  Women.  In those days women’s testimony could not be heard in courts of law, only men’s were valid, but Jesus chose women to be the first to see him so they could go and tell the men!

With all of this said, Thomas says that we need to know and believe that we are valued and dearly loved by God himself.  So…if I truly believe that God deeply loves and respects me, then I can love and respect myself.Yellow (5)

For my entire life I have sung  “Jesus loves me this I know, for the Bible tells me so…” but I think I never really believed it.  Certainly I knew that God made me and the world and all the people and creation, but I thought that I had to figure out this marriage thing on my own.  Looking back, I never realized how much God loved me.  I never really trusted Him in caring for Dad or all of you.  I thought I had to be the one who did all the molding and shaping (controlling).  It is quite freeing to rest in the fact that I am loved by God and my only job is to love and pray for those around me, not try to change them.  I also never realized how radical the Bible is in its treatment of women.  It’s our culture that has it wrong; God sees men and women as equal in value.  I pray that you will grow to know more and more that He cares intimately about every detail of your life ~ and that He can be trusted ~ even in your marriage.

I love I Corinthians 7:17: “And don’t be wishing you were someplace else.  Where you are right now is God’s place for you. Live and obey and love and believe right there.  God, not your marital status, defines your life.”

 

  Love, Mom

 

Change Who??

Dear Daughters,

About fifteen years ago our family was on vacation in Idaho at Grandpa and Grandma’s home – the year we were celebrating their 50th anniversary.  I don’t remember all the details, but Grandpa and Grandma were snipping at each other in the kitchen for some trivial reason.  I was sitting in the den so I heard part of what was said.  Then Grandma left to go outside and pick some veggies out of the garden.  I remember clear as day Grandpa’s next remark to me,

Your mom and I have been married for 50 years and she’s still trying to change me. 

It was like a flash of lightning for me, because for 25 years I had been trying to change your dad.  Apparently, the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.  Right then and there I vowed to find a way to learn to really love him for exactly who he is now and not for who I hope he will be in the future.

Since then I have been learning and reading, making mistakes, praying for wisdom, learning more and reading more and failing again .…..you get the idea.  But I have just started reading an incredible book written by Gary Thomas entitled Sacred Influence.  And because I have been learning so much I thought I would share it with all of you, my precious daughters.  You can take what you like, throw out the rest, but I feel the need to verbalize what I’ve been learning and trying to put into practice.   I just want to try to share succinctly one chapter at a time.

As you all know, our marriage has always been committed, but not always loving, encouraging, and peaceful.  In the first chapter of Sacred Influence, Thomas writes that although there are many good books on marriage written by women for women to encourage them in their marriages, he thought it might be helpful to write some male insights into men’s thoughts and feelings.

He starts by stating that God loves women.  He feels passion for you when you cry, in fact he cries with you.  He wants your marriage to be fulfilling and satisfying.  Gary writes,

God knows that men can provide great strength, nurture, comfort, and security, but also that they can be frustrating, terrifying, demanding, and selfish.

Then he goes on to remark that there is no way we can change a man, but that we can learn to influence him or move him – a far subtler art.  Remarkably, he goes on to say that your husband isn’t the only imperfect person in the relationship.  Now that was one of my problems earlier on, I thought I was OK just like I was and that the whole problem in our marriage was Dad.  But one day God showed me that I was also a big part of the problem – what a shocking revelation.

So, as I was trying to digest this scandalous new mindset I realized that there is only one person in the world I am able to change, and that is me.  After the initial shock of this enlightening insight, so much pressure has been taken from me to know that I can’t, and finally don’t want to change Dad, but I can become more patient, kind, and loving, then leave the rest up to God.  That too, was a new concept to me – letting God do the work that only He can do.

But before I can love, I must believe that I am loved by God because I simply cannot conjure up love on my own.

I love the words from Lauren Daigle when she pours out her heart to God:

     You say I am loved, when I don’t feel a thing

     You say I am strong, when I feel I am weak

     You say I am held, when I am falling short

     And when I don’t belong, Oh You say I am yours.

              And I believe….

Yes, I believe.  I must believe, I have to believe that God loves me before I can love anyone well.  Believing has been some of the hardest work I have ever done, but also some of the most life-saving work God has done through me.

Yes, it has taken much effort, time, and rejecting those lies from my past  – those lies that I had been forgotten and dismissed, somehow falling off  God’s radar.

Some days I find myself reverting back into my old ingrained ways of thinking, but little by little I am learning, growing, trusting and changing.

Love, Mom

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