Submission

Better to live on a corner of the roof than share a house with a quarrelsome wife...Better to live in a desert than with a quarrelsome and ill-tempered wife. Proverbs 21:4, 19

OUCH! I'm reading the Proverbs in my quiet time (I read through a book of the Old Testament and a book of the New Testament at the same time), and I'm particularly looking for wisdom about being a wife and mother. I really have gleaned quite a bit from what the Bible has to say (go figure! God created the family and then told us how to do it.), but this morning I was not thrilled to find two verses in the same chapter about the horrors of the quarrelsome wife. Now, honestly, Marc and I hardly ever fight. We have been married almost 17 years, and we just don't disagree anymore about most things--we worked out stuff long ago. However, the stress of getting ready to go can make us grumpy, and yesterday was a particularly grumpy day for both of us. So not only is God's Word a source of renewal and refreshment every morning, it can also be a source of terrible conviction. So today, I'm praying for Marc--I'm hoping he's going to be able to stay inside the house and not up on the roof or out in the desert! :o)

I am reading a tremendous book that I highly recommend: Richard Foster's Celebration of Discipline. I am really taking it slowly--only a small section a day--so I can chew it up and digest it, but it's worth the effort. (Lest you think I'm superwoman, our region--CEE--requires us to read a couple of things, and this was high on the list.) It is just an amazing book. Right now, I'm reading about submission (hence the title of this entry--had you worried, didn't I?), and I thought this was earth-shaking. "The most radical social teaching of Jesus was his total reversal of the contemporary notion of greatness. Leadership is found in becoming the servant of all. Power is discovered in submission...But note this: Christ not only died a cross-death, he lived a cross-life." Nearly everything God is doing in my life right now has to do with submission. I have had a lot of personal success in my career. I've been tremendously blessed, I've worked hard, I love kids, I love teaching, and I was fortunate to be recognized for all of those things. But suddenly I find myself in a new role. When the IMB talks about assignments, they're talking about Marc. Make no mistake about this--they're glad to have me, but Marc is the star of this show. His talent, his genius, his skills are the ones needed on the field. He is the one they prayed for in Russia for a long time before we showed up in Atlanta. It isn't that they don't want or need me and the skills I bring to the table, but my primary role is to take care of Marc so that he can minister. That is something totally new to me. Suddenly, it isn't about what I can do. YIKES!!! That's a new ballgame to me. Everything I have wrapped around myself as identity is gone--teacher, singer, go-to gal. For a girl with a degree in Leadership, I'm wearing an apron an awful lot of the time. (But in all fairness, I love aprons.) I am learning a whole lot about submission--to the IMB, to Marc, to what God has for me, to being the person He created me to be. It isn't easy, but I'm finding that there is a lot of joy wrapped up in submitting. There are many things I worried about for years and years that I have completely let go of, because they aren't my job anymore. For a long time, I lived a life where I kind of looked like a servant on the outside, but on the inside I wasn't a servant at all. I was arrogant and pushy, and I had to have my way all the time. I'm finding that letting that go and embracing servanthood is actually pretty joyful. Once again, it turns out that God knows what He's doing.

So what is He calling you to submit to Him? Your career? a relationship? a hobby? I don't have a clue what He's doing in your life, but I can promise you He wants to do something big. Let him. Remember that old cliche, "Let go and let God"? Turns out it's full of wisdom. Here's praying that today is a day you submit to what He has for you--and that your husband gets to stay in the house, too. :o)

Blessings!
His,
Kellye