Have Peace and Rest in Your Focus! Part 2

            So earlier this week, I tried to relieve my husband of a chore he would have had to do that night and after the chore was accomplished by the end of the morning, I found myself at a loss, my health and needs being compromised as a result. 

Here’s what happened.  We have a water dispenser in our house, and a five-gallon container of water sits on top, upside down.  We have five five-gallon containers and a three-gallon container (that goes on the kitchen counter) with a spout.  My husband loads them all in the car and drives to fill them when they are empty.            He asked me to go this time just to fill a few and the three-gallon container part way so it’s easy to lift, just for that day so I’d have water until he would complete the chore when he returned from working.  (I can’t carry the containers when they are filled all the way, being pregnant).  Well, I had an idea to save my husband the completing of the chore, and accepted the help of a man who was at the laundramat waiting for his clothes to dry.  The man filled the water to the brim and put the five-gallon containers in the car for me.  I knew my husband would lift them from the car to the house when he got home, but I didn’t think about it until I got home that that would mean I wouldn’t have water to drink that day!  And I hadn’t brought the three-gallon container as my husband had told me to!  (I did stay hydrated with juice we had in the fridge however.)  

My husband cares about me, and when he says something, he means it, and I need to acknowledge his care and listen to the details!  Listening to my husband and truly watching that when he tells me to do something, I find what he says he says because he cares!  It is for my own good, and I find I ought not to take matters into my own hands, and that frees me to focus on my responsibilities. 

How are you doing in the area of listening to the details of your husband’s wishes?  Do you need to watch and listen how he is out to care for you?  Don’t try to take matters into your own hands!  If you need to be alert to how he is on your side for taking care of you and need to be on his side with that, please do accept his care.

Have Peace and Rest in Your Focus! Part 1

            Last Saturday afternoon, I was unnecessarily anxious and felt to help with finances when my husband and I both know it is not my responsibility.  Here’s the mistake I made and what happened.  My husband and I have had a designated place where we dump items that are clutter, items we don’t want or need anymore, and eventually, we are going to have a garage sale.  About 4:00 that afternoon, I went to the location and gathered about twenty-three of those items and took them to a nicely lit part of our house and took pictures of them one by one.  I spent about two to three hours taking pictures, uploading the pictures on the internet at seven different locations, giving descriptions and prices.  It is unnecessary for me to be burdened with the load of financial responsibility for my family.  That afternoon, I did not focus on dinner, which is my responsibility. 

            So there’s a lesson for me here in this.  I should enjoy my job and responsibilities in the family.  I should focus on the responsibilities I have and truly make my effort excel in the area.  There’s nothing wrong for me to care about my husband’s responsibilities and hear him vent when there’s troubles and pray for him for success in his responsibilities and efforts.  How are you doing focusing on your area of responsibility in your family?  If you are having troubles resting in your jobs, I would encourage you to seek out how you can excel there and not be troubled with unnecessary anxiety!

Blessing of Protection After Submitting

            Now that I have broken away from my parents, I have found it easier to submit and be more dedicated and focused on my husband and our daughter.  I have found my husband’s protection when submitting.  It’s God’s plan to obey Him and get blessed. (“Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands, as unto the Lord,” Ephesians 5:22 “But he said, Yea rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it,” Luke 11:28).  A blessing I feel that God gives me when I submit is a sense of favor from God and respect and protection from my husband.

            A statement a wife made which has encouraged me in this immediate time after I made the change and set the boundaries with my mom and my dad and broke away from them I will end my entry with.  This wife is aware that my husband is the head of the house, and that as all husbands should, he is out to love and protect and do what is best for himself, my daughter, and me.  The statement is something encouraging, and it encouraged me to rest and trust the man that the Lord has put over me to love me and guide me, a man God provided a way through to give me more of His blessing of protection and the statement is: thankfully you have a husband who can make good decisions for the health of your little family, so the burden is not on your shoulders.

            When I submit, I am recognizing the protection God has provided through my husband, and I get a lifted burden.

Breaking Away From Parents

Recently, I have broken away from my parents.  This much overdue choice has resulted much in my husband’s contentment and peace.  I knew that something wasn’t right… I didn’t feel mature even though having gotten married.  My husband and I have been married in just over four years, and the grief I have put him through during that time where many of my actions and words had the underlying cause of not having broken away from my parents is regretful to me.

I have wanted to grow as a wife, learning to be a better helpmeet, and the goals and thoughts behind having my blog in existence has lead me to this point in the blog, journaling about learning to be a better helpmeet.

How I would describe the change in my life is that I was showing trust and accountability and allegiance to my parents before I called them and set boundaries.  I did not have encouragement from my parents with the marriage, and the boundaries I have set had to be strict.

It is my desire to learn about being a helpmeet more and more, and it is still my desire to encourage other wives who have similar desires.  I hope and pray for you that if you need to break away from your parents, that you would be able to do it very thoroughly.