Refrigerators and Cuss Words
"...like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."
A shiny new fridge....my joy was complete! After my husband's Herculean effort to move and install the fridge by himself at 10:00 last night, I carefully pieced each dish of leftovers and half-bottles of salad dressing in their new home. Even those tired old things looked new in fluorescent light!
I closed the door and decided to wait to clutter up the outside surface with kids' art work and sports schedules and out of date magnets. What an improvement! Our old fridge still worked, but the pesky leak we never got around to fixing drove us to replace instead of repair. The thought occurred to me that I was thankful we had the means to purchase an appliance and soon after that thought...fear whined in my ears.
My husband's business is changing. There, I said it. Change seems like a cuss word sometimes. I hush the kids when they bring it up and give my husband, Tim, dirty looks across the dinner table when he feels the need to call a family meeting or make some important announcement. This is where we are now.
Changes in his business aren't new, but this one seems pivotal in his career and that plain freaks me out. Each time that whine wakes my senses, I turn up the volume on my Christian radio station, check Facebook, or go for a run. I keep thinking if I keep the fear at bay, I can get away with minimal wrinkles by the time this change takes us to a new normal.
But this morning, after glancing at my new fridge again, I wanted to deal with it. "Fear and faith are in opposition," I once heard on Dr. Dobson's radio show. As a result, I opened my Bible to 1 Peter where I remembered Scripture addressing my role as a wife, with reference to braids vs. unchanging beauty, which at my age is always a welcome message.
As I skimmed the familiar passage, ideas of submission and respect marched across my mind all waving banners of what that might mean in today's culture. "I get it, I get it," I thought. Respect is one thing, but sometimes trusting my husband seems completely dangerous and edgy like letting him blindfold me while rock climbing in the Grand Canyon. (See how I can easily translate change as a cuss word?!?! My hands are sweating just thinking about it!)
The reference to Sarah in I Peter seemed a foggy memory to me and then I read the verse that I'm pretty sure I've never seen before here....the one with the word "fear" written right in it. I was giving myself up to fear, like I Peter 3:6 says not to do! I re-read the verse for clarification and there it was.
Sarah's submission was to God first (verse 5) and then to her husband (also in verse 5). Here, Sarah is called a holy woman and I am asked to represent those characteristics as a daughter of the faith. Sarah makes it seem so easy in a distant, holy kind of way. Although I sang about being a son of Abraham 3,288 times during my awkward elementary stage, I've never equated myself as a daughter of hers, but that is what I am.
Historically, I've been the red-headed step-child! Here's why- I do this backwards. I want to see that I can trust Tim first, then add or subtract a measure of trust in God based on how Tim works things out for us. That, my friend, is a huge problem. I place tremendous pressure on Tim, who is amazing, but is not God. AND I squeeze God out of almost every situation.
Can I do this? Can I trust God first for my circumstances? For the well-being of my family? The future of my children? Our happiness and contentment as a family? Can I walk as a daughter of Sarah, trusting in God first and respecting my husband regardless of the circumstances or outcomes in my marriage?
God is trustworthy, I know that in full. Our marriage testifies to the steady hand of God, ushering us through some pretty terrifying changes. Looking back, those changes transformed our family from scrappy to strong...something for which I often thank God. Did I brace myself each time? Sure. Did I grimace while going through change. Probably most times. Was I smiling on the other side. Sometimes.
So, with the fridge as my witness, I will try this time. I will make an effort to trust God first. I will proclaim his faithfulness to me. I will testify of his complete care. And Tim will be off the hook, in a way. God will work things out for his business. I will respect his decisions as I trust in God.
And maybe, just maybe, opportunities of trusting God will completely transform that dirty little word "change" to a word of promise and faith.
Sarah would like that, I think.
Lord, give me a spirit like Sarah's. Spur me on toward a life of righteousness with a deep respect for my husband, but help me to always place my trust in you. Replace my fear with faith. Thank you for your unending faithfulness to me. You are my rock and I lean heavily on you. Amen.
I Peter 3: 6
A shiny new fridge....my joy was complete! After my husband's Herculean effort to move and install the fridge by himself at 10:00 last night, I carefully pieced each dish of leftovers and half-bottles of salad dressing in their new home. Even those tired old things looked new in fluorescent light!
I closed the door and decided to wait to clutter up the outside surface with kids' art work and sports schedules and out of date magnets. What an improvement! Our old fridge still worked, but the pesky leak we never got around to fixing drove us to replace instead of repair. The thought occurred to me that I was thankful we had the means to purchase an appliance and soon after that thought...fear whined in my ears.
My husband's business is changing. There, I said it. Change seems like a cuss word sometimes. I hush the kids when they bring it up and give my husband, Tim, dirty looks across the dinner table when he feels the need to call a family meeting or make some important announcement. This is where we are now.
Changes in his business aren't new, but this one seems pivotal in his career and that plain freaks me out. Each time that whine wakes my senses, I turn up the volume on my Christian radio station, check Facebook, or go for a run. I keep thinking if I keep the fear at bay, I can get away with minimal wrinkles by the time this change takes us to a new normal.
But this morning, after glancing at my new fridge again, I wanted to deal with it. "Fear and faith are in opposition," I once heard on Dr. Dobson's radio show. As a result, I opened my Bible to 1 Peter where I remembered Scripture addressing my role as a wife, with reference to braids vs. unchanging beauty, which at my age is always a welcome message.
As I skimmed the familiar passage, ideas of submission and respect marched across my mind all waving banners of what that might mean in today's culture. "I get it, I get it," I thought. Respect is one thing, but sometimes trusting my husband seems completely dangerous and edgy like letting him blindfold me while rock climbing in the Grand Canyon. (See how I can easily translate change as a cuss word?!?! My hands are sweating just thinking about it!)
The reference to Sarah in I Peter seemed a foggy memory to me and then I read the verse that I'm pretty sure I've never seen before here....the one with the word "fear" written right in it. I was giving myself up to fear, like I Peter 3:6 says not to do! I re-read the verse for clarification and there it was.
Sarah's submission was to God first (verse 5) and then to her husband (also in verse 5). Here, Sarah is called a holy woman and I am asked to represent those characteristics as a daughter of the faith. Sarah makes it seem so easy in a distant, holy kind of way. Although I sang about being a son of Abraham 3,288 times during my awkward elementary stage, I've never equated myself as a daughter of hers, but that is what I am.
Historically, I've been the red-headed step-child! Here's why- I do this backwards. I want to see that I can trust Tim first, then add or subtract a measure of trust in God based on how Tim works things out for us. That, my friend, is a huge problem. I place tremendous pressure on Tim, who is amazing, but is not God. AND I squeeze God out of almost every situation.
Can I do this? Can I trust God first for my circumstances? For the well-being of my family? The future of my children? Our happiness and contentment as a family? Can I walk as a daughter of Sarah, trusting in God first and respecting my husband regardless of the circumstances or outcomes in my marriage?
God is trustworthy, I know that in full. Our marriage testifies to the steady hand of God, ushering us through some pretty terrifying changes. Looking back, those changes transformed our family from scrappy to strong...something for which I often thank God. Did I brace myself each time? Sure. Did I grimace while going through change. Probably most times. Was I smiling on the other side. Sometimes.
So, with the fridge as my witness, I will try this time. I will make an effort to trust God first. I will proclaim his faithfulness to me. I will testify of his complete care. And Tim will be off the hook, in a way. God will work things out for his business. I will respect his decisions as I trust in God.
And maybe, just maybe, opportunities of trusting God will completely transform that dirty little word "change" to a word of promise and faith.
Sarah would like that, I think.
Lord, give me a spirit like Sarah's. Spur me on toward a life of righteousness with a deep respect for my husband, but help me to always place my trust in you. Replace my fear with faith. Thank you for your unending faithfulness to me. You are my rock and I lean heavily on you. Amen.
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