Ephesians 5:33b: And the wife should respect her husband.
Respect is his primary need, his deepest desire.

I Put My Followers First

Thursday, March 25, 2010

Everything I needed to know about marriage . . .

. . . I learned from my daughter.
I know that sounds absurd to anyone who has not met my daughter and her husband, however, those of you who do know them can fully understand the statement.
I will spare everyone the details but suffice it to say that I was raised in a dysfunctional family and arrived at adulthood with an incredibly warped understanding of the purpose of marriage and family. It surely was a factor that I did not know God at all. Obviously, I was completely unaware that the marriage covenant was ordained by God so that His purposes might be fulfilled.
I know, I know. The wedding vows are replete with references to God “bringing together” and man “not tearing apart” but what was that, really? From my life-is-but-a-fairy-tale perspective the words meant nothing but beautifully poetic language of bygone traditions.
By the time my daughter was planning her wedding, my third marriage was in its death throes. While absolutely thrilled with her choice of a husband, I was frightened because I had never taught her how to be successfully married. I had no idea how to do it myself.
I have hundreds of stories which would substantiate the title of this post but I am choosing the first lesson I ever learned about a Godly marriage from my daughter and her husband.
My first lesson came shortly after my daughter and her new husband returned from their honeymoon. By telephone, my daughter told me that we would no longer have our daily (or twice or thrice daily) phone conversations. Her husband had asked her to limit our phone calls until Sundays after church.    She would comply; “obey” if you will. I was hurt, angry and confused.  I would pay for the calls I offered and she declined.  It was not about the money.  I was persistent.  I was annoying.  I nagged until she humbly explained that she was doing as she was asked out of respect for her husband.  
In retrospect I am so grateful for all that his “mandate” taught me. My daughter learned to turn to her husband (rather than her mother) for counsel. As a new wife she learned to respect her husband’s opinion, to share of herself and to listen until agreement was reached. They learned to discuss every thing. I was jealous, very jealous, when I realized that all of the intimate discussions, the laughter and the joy that I had shared with my daughter were no longer to be mine alone.
I had never witnessed a wife respecting her husband as my daughter respected hers. It was endearing, encouraging and enlightening to watch. It was surprising and unforgettable. 
Now, mind you, it was not that she hung on his every word or conceded to his every opinion. My daughter is a strong woman, of great intelligence, wisdom and insight. My son-in-law is equally intelligent, compassionate and fair.  When my daughter and her husband disagreed they both afforded the other common courtesy, admiration and an obvious mutual respect. When all had been said and all things considered, her husband had the final word.
Does that sound chauvinistic? It was not. When my son-in-law would establish the course of action it was not always for the choice that he favored. He seemed to equitably accept his wife’s counsel and to set course accordingly.
Everything Godly that I needed to learn about marriage was taught to me by the example of my daughter and her husband.

5 comments:

Ruth said...

This is wonderfully beautiful! It's so rare to see this kind of Godly marriage where both husband and wife are obeying God's way of marriage. What a testament and good example for us all your daughter is.

I've just been thinking about this subject as well. It all started from a couple of posts on a blog I follow, and I just posted some of my thoughts over on my blog. When I saw your post on Google reader, I had written mine but hadn't uploaded it yet. :-) It's something how God works things out like that.

Thank you for sharing this with us, Sharon. I was blessed reading it!

Sharon Cohen said...

It is peculiar, Ruth, how many of us are considering the topic of marriage, Godly marriage, right now.

Doesn't it make you feel connected to Him more intimately when this happens? It sure does for me.

OklahomaBrad said...

Thank you for this post, Sharon. I really appreciate your honesty, and your willingness to share this!

Anonymous said...

Somehow, I am not getting your updates anymore!

I used to be signed up for your blog! What happened?

Anyway, I'm going to refollow and look forward to hearing more from you.

Marty

Sharon Cohen said...

Thanks for posting Brad. I am always hopeful that when I share what I have lived through and what I have learned, others might find hope.

I don't know what happened Marty. I assure you that I did not disconnect you - unless it is possible to do so accidently? I'm a bit of a techno-clutz sometimes.

Can I get an Amen?