The Wife's Part

Every wife and Mother celebrates great joys in life as well as facing challenges of every kind and size.  

Often times, no sooner does every thing come together, than everything seems to fall apart, 

and you find yourself at ground zero...again.

  Some days you may just get tired of picking up the pieces, and feel like running away. 

 Such was my story for years. 

 When my hard working husband did finally get home,

 I was ready to throw the children at him and disappear for a good long while.  

I hated that fact, but it was real and I did not know how to get past it,

 until an honest friend came along and told me what the problem was. 

 It wasn't that I had my hands too full, 

or that my husband expected too much,

 or that I wasn't capable of raising children and homeschooling,

 it was just that there was way too much of ME going on and way too little of Jesus.  

About this time I read a quote in an Above Rubies Magazine that has stuck with me like a burr, 

yes, a painful burr.

  Serene Allision said, "When I think too much about myself, I lose my joy."

My honest and loving friend basically gave me a kick in the rear end 

and told me to make my home what I dreamed and fantasized it to be,

 a happy and loving home,

 where the mama is not yelling or frenzied,

 where the children get along and obey,

 and a haven where my husband wants to be.  

I began to see that the only thing getting in the way of those ideals 

was my selfishness and slothfulness to do what I knew was right.

Every day, a woman has the choice to make; 

whether she will lay down her desires and serve her family, as unto the Lord. 

 She must will to do the necessary whether she feels like it or not. 

 Her priority must become the eternal result of her children's souls 

and the accountability to stand before God and give account for her days. 

 Sounds awful, doesn't it?

But it wasn't. 

 It was the most freeing, joyous, satisfying thing I could have possibly done. 

 Difficult, yes.

  I had to continually lay down my selfish desire to want to do what I felt like,

 instead of what I should do.  

It was just plain hard... at first. 

 And then it began to be easier. 

 And one day, I awoke and was glad, 

instead of my usual: "O GOD!!! Help, it is another DAY!!!"

I am looking at that time now as the proverbial transition of labor to which birthed a gentle and quiet spirit.  Just like a sweet new bundle of blessing from heaven, it was so well worth it,

not just for me, but for the whole family.

Dear wives and mothers, saying "no" to the flesh is more rewarding than you can possibly imagine,

 worth the brief battle,

 worth the peace and joy you now long for,

 the serene home that eludes you. 

 Lay down your flesh, it is not doing a very good job anyway, is it? 

Let the Spirit of God fill you and flow through you. 

 You see, you do not need to become more patient,

 you need to get out of the way

 and let God's perfect patience flow through you to your family.  

Lay down the anger,

 rebuke it,

 rid yourself of it once and for all. 
That anger is not God working in you, but the enemy. 
Cast it off like a coat full of lice.
  Every morning, dying to the ugly self
and filling up with a fresh dose of Holy Spirit is the only way to become godly, to live a holy life.

 My prayer is that you will humbly begin today,
 even now,
 and experience the fullness of life, motherhood, and marriage
 that God ordained for you and those you love.

"The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly ." (John 10:10, KJV)