Should I stay or Should I go?

An adventure in submission.

A few months ago we invited our friends to attend our church life group with us.  That night, there was a weather forecast of high winds and storms coming into our area but we ventured out anyway.  We arrived with our families safely and had a great time that night.  After we had been their for a while it became extremely windy and the power flickered on and off, on and off.  At that point all the life group families packed up their families and belongings and headed out to their cars to head home.  Our friends left a bit before us in their mini van.  As our family was heading down the dark, windy dirt road we could see tail lights ahead.   Approaching the lights cautiously, we saw a mini van stopped and I said, “Oh no!  It’s Kenn and Becky’s van stopped directly in the middle of the road! I hope they didn’t hit a deer!”

Dino pulled up beside their van on the dark dirt road.  With the headlights shining in front, we were amazed to see that blocking the entire road was a huge, dead tree that had just blown over.  Dino said “Ok.  Everybody get out of the van.  We’re going to go help move the tree.  As I reached for the door I looked down, out of the window and saw the muddy dirt road.  I thought to myself, “that is the last thing I want to do right now is to get out and get my boots all muddy.”  Right at that moment, I had a choice to make.  Should I stay in the van where it isn’t muddy and not listen to my husband or should I go and help like he asked me to do?  Well, I got out of the van with my family, like he asked, and tracked through the mud.  As I walked up to our friends van, lo and behold, I found Becky sitting in the passenger seat with their kids wanting to get out. I was thinking to myself, “Becky is always out helping Kenn do projects, paint the house, huge landscape projects, shovel the driveway.  She is such a great helpmate… what in the world is she doing sitting inside the van with the kids while Kenn is standing in the middle of the road trying to figure out how to move the tree?”  Becky rolled the window down and said, “Kenn told me and the kids to stay in the van.”  Trying to contain herself, Becky said, “I don’t want to stay in the van, I want to get out and help, but I am listening to my husband.  I just reminded my son, as he was trying to get out to help, that Dad said to stay in the van.  Hey, why do you get to get out of your van?”  I laughed and said, “Well, my husband told me and our kids to get out of the van and help move the tree.  I didn’t want to get out of the van and stand in all of this mud, but I’m doing what he requested me to.”

After Kenn and Dino assessed the situation, there was no way we were going to be able to move the tree without totally blocking someones driveway. We all climbed back into our vans, turned around and took a different route home. It was very interesting that Kenn wanted Becky and their kids to stay in the van when my husband had a totally opposite request, wanting me and our kids to get out of the van to help.  Both Becky and I had a choice to make.  Should we stay?  Or should we go?  I wanted to stay in the van yet, Becky wanted to go get out of the van.  Our husbands had two, totally opposite requests.  Becky and I both did as they asked.  We did what Ephesians 5 says to do, submit to your own husband.  Becky and I were obedient to God’s word and have been blessed by all the giggles we enjoy every time we talk over this adventure in submission.

In Ephesians 5:22-23 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is head of the wife, as also Christ is head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body.  The word of God does not put males over females, like our society portrays today.  Submission, in the Bible, is not a bad word like many view it today.  God calls the husband to accept responsible leadership in his family and the wife is specifically called to accept her husbands leadership.  Wives’ submission comes down to acting in faith and trusting God to work through your husband; that he will make Godly decisions for you and your family.