“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17 (NIV)
We attended our children’s Christmas concert many months ago now. As I was sitting there soaking in the harmony, bass and everything in between, it struck me how the melody wouldn’t be as sweet without the richness of the bass accentuating it. And the bass by itself would be just a series of low tones without the beauty of the melody to fill in the other sections. Neither would sound eloquent without everyone focusing on the conductor – waiting for his cue to come in, be silent, play together and end at the same time.
That reminded me of a conversation I had with my daughter a few weeks’ prior. We started talking about the Biblical role of a wife. Our daughter is a go-getter. One of her first nicknames was “Energizer Bunny” because she was on the move from the moment she woke up until the moment she fell asleep. She loves people and loves to be in the middle of a great adventure. Another nickname we’ve given her over the years is “our CSI” because she is the best at finding lost things, finishing a task down to the tiniest detail and making sure she is ahead of the game. She is always ready on time, always prepared and always willing to help.
I was trying to explain to her the love language of letting the man be the head of the household… letting her husband lead. Instead of always having to know everything, being willing to sit back and enjoy the adventure. Letting a husband (or father) surprise you once in a while as you enjoy being taken care of. That can be hard for someone like her who loves being in charge.
I was trying to help her balance her God-given qualities of being “in charge” with the Biblical command as a wife to allow her husband to lead. I was explaining how just because we’re called to be under our husbands, that doesn’t make us weak. It takes a strong woman to stand behind her man – supporting, encouraging, and running the household in order to allow him to lead the family. A Biblical man will listen to his wife’s opinion and weigh all sides while going to God in prayer about the choices needed. A Biblical marriage has a husband and wife going before God together asking for wisdom and a Biblical wife will continue to pray asking God to give her husband the wisdom needed to make the best decision for the family.
My daughter plays the bass clarinet and her brother plays percussion. God opened my eyes through their Christmas concert to the beautiful illustration of how their bass blends with the harmony of the flutes and clarinets to make the sweetest music possible. What a perfect explanation of marriage the way God designed. The husband and wife working together to blend each gift together, looking to God (the conductor) to lead them both. The bass, which my daughter plays beautifully, complementing the melody, producing music that will last a lifetime.
She’s almost 13 and isn’t even allowed to date yet. However, I pray God gives me many more opportunities for open dialogue like this one to share with her the wonderful blessing of being a helpmate to her husband and living the way God designed a marriage to be.
© Cheri Swalwell 2016