On my way to work a few weeks back, I was listening to Dr. Adrian Rogers’ segment, “A Magnificent Marriage,” on the Love Worth Finding radio series (XM 170). The segment was based on Ephesians 5:22-24 …
Ephesians 5:22-24 (King James Version)
22 Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord.
23 For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church: and he is the saviour of the body.
24 Therefore as the church is subject unto Christ, so let the wives be to their own husbands in every thing.
The theme was submission and the distinct roles of husband and wife. According to Dr. Rogers, husbands are to love their wives as Christ loved the church. They are not to act as dictators, but are to be the head of the household while acting as a loving leader. This concept of submission does not mean that wives are to do as their husbands say regardless of what it is, but are to show respect. The concept is this – if wives give husbands the room they need to lead, they will in turn respect us and our roles, and will also be more willing to help out where we need them (If we ask in the right way.). Naturally, Dr. Rogers had a much better way of putting it, and I urge you to listen if you want to learn more. It actually made great sense and wasn’t demeaning at all.
While the entire segment was interesting, I took a particular interest in (and got a good laugh from) the following:
A little boy was looking through the family picture album, and he came to a picture of his mother when she was a very young girl just after they got married. And he saw his beautiful mother; he said to his dad, “Daddy is that when mother came to work for us?”
To that, I could relate. Yes, having a child truly changes you, your relationship with your spouse, and your life in general. But you already knew that, right? I won’t even go there, but I will elaborate on the chaos of it all.
We welcomed our daughter into the world just over three months ago – I didn’t know it then, but on that day, I truly began to “work” for my family. I’ve since returned to work full-time (Sigh.), and there’s probably not a day that goes by that I don’t feel overwhelmed with all there is to do between the two “jobs.”
When I get home from work each day, I start my second job of wife and mom, and that shift typically doesn’t end until around 11 pm. Every night, there are the typical tasks we’re all familiar with: dinner to make, laundry to do, bottles to prepare, lunches to assemble, dishes to wash/load/unload, mail to go through, bills to pay, a little person to feed and bathe, etc. In the midst of all that’s required, each day I find time to play with Lily – whether it’s walking outside, rolling on her play mat, reading a book, or jumping in the jumperoo. Every evening is exhausting by the time it’s all said and done.
Weekends are much the same – and those two days typically start by 6 am. I spend one day running my errands and the other cleaning, preparing for the week, doing laundry, and catching up on household chores. In case you weren’t aware, everything with baby takes 4 times longer than without baby, so it seems very little gets done (I typically have Lily to myself all weekend long.). Weekends are equally as depleting as weekdays, and every single last minute is precious.
Overall, I wish things didn’t have to be this way. I wish I didn’t have to work (Part-time or something from home would be fine, too!), as I long to spend more time with our girl. Though we’re together every night and all weekend long, I don’t feel I get enough fun time with her, and so often it frustrates me. I just want more time; I long for more time.
Would I go back to the way things were before I came to “work” for my family? Heck no! However, I would choose to make some changes, and can certainly relate to what the boy said to his dad.
Sometimes, folks, it’s just a bit too much …
