Hank

His name was Hank.  This elderly gentleman sitting at the bar, eating his dinner.  I hadn't really noticed him at first.  Quite frankly, I was not pleased that the waitress had sat us in the bar area anyway.  It was cold and noisy.  My attitude quickly changed once I became aware of Hank.  I'm not quite sure what drew my attention to him.  I think it was a God thing.  He gave me a glimpse into what had just transpired and it made me smile.  There was a middle-aged couple sitting beside Hank.  There were people all along the bar.  But this particular couple had just told the waitress they wanted to pay for Hank's dinner.  The waitress told them that was not possible because another couple at the other end of the bar, already had.  Both couples, Hank, and a few people in between got caught up in the goodness that was going on.  There was laughter and smiles.  I heard words like blessing and friend.  At one point, I even heard the bartender ask one of the couples to pray for a situation in his life.  I would have missed all of it if I'd let my bad attitude rule and had  the waitress seat us some place else. 

Men, Umbrellas and the Women who Help Hold Them Up

Does your man own an umbrella?  He may not own a physical umbrella but God has given him an umbrella of authority and protection to hold over his family.  This umbrella is the wisdom and discernment that God has made available to men.  It's their job to use what God has given them to protect and lead their wives and children.  Wives, it's our job to help and encourage our men to hold those umbrellas.  Their umbrella is held higher by them spending time with God through prayer and reading His Word.  When men falter in these areas, the umbrella falls, leaving the wife and children unprotected to some degree. Wives, when you fight against the godly leadership of your husband, you're stepping out from under the umbrella.  Stay close to your man.  Support and encourage him to be the man, the husband, the father God has called him to be.  Men, BE the man, husband, father that God has called you to be.  We need strong, godly men in our lives.  We need men who will lead.  We need men we can count on; men we know are praying for us and seeking God's best for us.

I know this can be considered controversial.  Some would balk at the idea of man's authority over his wife.  But that's the way God designed it to be.  It's not a bad thing.  It's a very, very good thing.  When the husband is seeking the Lord and following His leading, he's going to love and care for his wife in a way she could never imagine.  When the wife is supporting and encouraging  her husband the way the Bible tells her to, he's going to be even more eager to be the kind of husband she needs.  It's a win, win situation.  It's God's perfect plan. 

And when children grow up in this type of home, they model their marriage after their parents'.  They understand the concept of mutual respect and love; of sacrifice and giving.  These traits carry over into their other relationships as well.

I think if more men would take hold of their umbrellas, homes and families could be repaired and things could be different in this world.

What if your husband isn't an umbrella wielder?  Do the things you know to do!  Keep praying and reading and doing what you can.

A Pastor's wife shared this scripture with me many years ago:  1 Peter 3:1  "In the same way, you wives, be submissive to your own husbands so that even if any of them are disobedient to the word, they may be won without a word by the behavior of their wives".

That means, no nagging!  It means quietly, humbly doing the things you know God wants you to do and let Him do the work on your husband.  Then one day, before you know it, you'll notice there's an umbrella over your head that wasn't there before.