Ephesians 5

I know I've emphasized how just being married has sky rocketed my relationship with the Lord before, but I just can't explain the depth it has taken my heart. And I've learned the reason behind it is this: God uses marriage to show us where we need to grow and deal with our self-centerness through the help of a lifelong partner. Here lately, my focus has been on the fifth chapter of Ephesians. While it isn't very lengthy in it's text, it's filled with so much insight on how we should live and love in a marriage and it just sets my soul afire as they would say! It also speaks of the "S" word most of us wives find hard to live by: Being submissive to our husbands. Being submissive to one another in the fear of God.

I read through the chapter a couple of times to myself and I thought: Why do I make this so hard? I make this concept God tries to imprint on my heart so difficult and I am so very selfish. I guess it's just the woman in us all that tends to react to opposition and just being told that we're wrong even when we know very well we are wrong indeed. We will fight that gravy train until the wheels fall right off and dang it when we're right we will let you know it, and a couple of times at that! But it shouldn't be like that should it? 

"Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord."

"For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the savior of the body."

It's hard when the world we're living in wants us to believe we are bigger than ourselves and our husbands have no control over us, but honestly we should trust in them and let them lead. After all, they were chosen to be the head of the wife and just as the church submits to Christ so should we wives submit to our husbands. It's a hard fact to swallow, but it all goes hand in hand with the endless cycle of love and respect I think. I know for certain that God designed my husband to lead me in the best ways possible for us, he is a great husband and he will be a great father to our future children, I'm very blessed to be able to say that. He doesn't know how much I look up to him as my husband.

Although our husbands aren't always right in a disagreement, I don't believe God intends for us as women to not have a voice at all in our opinions, I do believe he wants us to point out our thoughts and opinions of the matter in the sweetest of ways though. There's nothing wrong with conversating and talking your problems out, I really believe the Lord wants us to talk among struggles, it's the best medicine for rekindling our love back in place, but sometimes we forget to end at the appropriate moment, and just let things go and let love back in. Yes, I am very complicated in my womanly ways, but I am so proud to be able to be someone's wife, Garretts wife.

But what I love most of this chapter is how precious God points out how our husbands should love us as well. 

"Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it."

"So ought men to love their wives as their own bodies. He that loveth his wife loveth himself."

We as each others mate both hold high responsiblites in loving and taking care of each other. Our husbands should love us as much as Christ loved the church and as much as they love themselves, their life. That is BIG to me, and I don't know about you but that makes me feel so valued as a woman. It makes being submissive and doing my best to live my role as the wife worth more than anything this world could ever think to offer. 

Tonight I really wanted to do something special for Garrett to put my Ephesian ways of love into practice, so I decided to surprise him with a candlelit dinner in our dining room, just the two of us. I made the table as pretty as I pleased and picked a fresh flower from our backyard and set out our never been used wedding plates from the china cabinet for the occasion, it was perfect. It was our first candle lit dinner while I kind of planned it spur of the moment, it was awfully sweet I think. 

Since we just came from vacation, we felt we needed to stand back from the heavy spending of going out, so I brought it on home instead. I cooked up my version of Teriyaki Shrimp over Fried Rice and warmed up some yummy rolls complete with cinnamon sugar butter. It felt nice and it will def be a memory to cherish, no it wasn't restraunt worthy in no way but the husband did compliment my first attempt at the dish and that was good enough for me. 

I couldn't help but tear up as he prayed the sweetest prayer and thanked God for his wonderful wife and the meal that I had prepared for him, if he would have noticed I would have blamed it on the caffeine from my vanilla coke for sure, but it sure made so proud to be his wife and that he values me with his life and cares enough to thank God for me in every single one of his prayers. It makes every role of being the wife worth putting into practice to hear the love that spills back from it.