Helpmeet--Ch. 2 & 3; Stephanie

This picture was taken just a couple of weeks after my son, Mason, was born. I was looking a bit haggard, but my sister and I were about to go out and indulge in a pedicure. Too bad I didn't get the "after" picture; I'm sure I was more perky! Great memories, Chelle.

Now, on to business! I remember the first time I read Ch's 2 and 3. Boy was I convicted! I had spent almost a year in "martyr" mode...the long face, the hurt eyes, the crushed spirit. And these chapters were just the slap-in-the-face with a dose of honey I needed. Just like Prov. 17:22 says, "A merry heart doeth good like a medicine."

The 4th paragraph of Ch. 2 was like a bad car accident: I couldn't help but look at it...again and again. As I read it, even now, I am convinced that my "poor me" attitude (even when I have good reason for feeling hurt) is only pouring oil on an already slippery road toward a heavenly marriage. It's true that we don't have the kind of carefree, silly love we had when we first got married. But then we have a lot more stress on our marriage now. And I can't devote all of my love to just him anymore; I have 2 little ones who require my affection and attention all day long. I know you all understand what I'm talking about. I may be drained of that playful love by the time he walks through the door, but I can sure have a sweet smile and an energetic attitude. Of course, all of this work to be and look merry must come from One who has no lack: The joy of the Lord is my strength. And I must pray in order to receive that strength from Him who earnestly desires my sanctification, and will not hold back those resources which enable my obedience.

My sister gave me a quote a few years ago, which was so profound an admonition, I posted it on my bathroom mirror and read it almost daily. I think it will be most helpful to those wives who are married to dominant men, but all wives will benefit from it. Puritan preacher, Andrew Murray, says:
"Humility is perfect quietness of heart. It is to expect nothing, to wonder at nothing that is done to me, to feel nothing against me. It is to be at rest when nobody praises me, and when I am blamed or despised. It is to have a blessed home in the Lord, where I can go in and shut the door, and yield to my Father in secret, and am at peace as in a deep sea of calmness, when all around and above is trouble. The humble person is not one who thinks meanly of himself, he simply does not think of himself at all."

Humility and contentment walk hand-in-hand. And Debi Pearl says it straight in Ch. 3: "Discontentment is not a product of circumstances; it is the state of the soul," and again, "Most people have practiced hitting the notes of bitterness, sourness, hurt feelings, and frustration so long that their soul finds the discordant notes easily, almost without thought." I am discontent when I think I deserve better treatment or more accolades or easy communication with my husband. And just about the time I want to go to the wall for my "rights", I remember that I will not be content in getting what I desire but in fashioning my spirit to my condition. It is not always an easy condition to live in; but I can smile at the future, hope, and believe that God is at much at work in my beloved as He is in me. "And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which you were also called in one body; and be thankful."