God's good design

I am thankful for the way God designs a marriage to work. The husband is the head of the home. The wife is his helpmate. Together they make up a team. I like being on the team.

Yesterday was a full day. Mark and I were off to church by 8:20 for worship practice. At 9:15 my sister and I taught Sunday School. The church service started at 10:30. We left church around 12:15. Once home, I did my work out, baked bread and Mark and I prepared and ate lunch together.

Feeling the urge to move around, I went for a walk while Mark rested up after a weekend of visiting with his best friend from out of town. On the walk, I began thinking about everything I wanted to get done at the house, especially since I’m hosting the Mother’s Day meal this year. So after the walk, I got to work cleaning our sunroom – vacuuming, wiping off dirt, rearranging. I took our big wooden swing outside so I could sand it down before we reapply the stain. Sanding done, at least the first round of it, I went to get Mark to help me take it back inside.

At that point I wasn’t feeling so strong and full of energy any more. And that’s when I needed my teammate.

After cleaning myself up, I began to empty the dishwasher only to discover that all the glasses in the top rack didn’t rinse properly. Not a big deal normally, but when I’m tired everything feels more overwhelming. I showed Mark a glass with soap residue and preceded to rinse out all our glasses before drying them and putting them away.

And Mark, I’m not sure if he sensed my frustration or was just being nice and helping out (he usually does), came and helped me put away the rest of the dishes. At that point in time, that’s exactly what I needed him to do. I needed him to help me out. I needed to be able to tag-team it to get things done so I could relax, knowing our home  was taken care of.

From that moment on I was so full of appreciation for my husband. I appreciated that he chose to help me instead of filling his time with something else. I appreciated that he chose to spend time with me instead of play a computer game that evening. Because that’s what it means to be a partner in marriage. It’s about doing life together and helping each other out. Even when help comes in the form of being a shoulder to lay my head on as we unwind at the end of the day. I need that shoulder.

So I thank God for His design and for my husband. And I’m thankful for the reminder of how well things work when we do it God’s way.