Strong Willed WV Wives

Jeremiah 17:8
"He is like a tree planted by water,
    that sends out its roots by the stream,
and does not fear when heat comes,
    for its leaves remain green,
and is not anxious in the year of drought,
    for it does not cease to bear fruit.”

My Reflection:

From one (strong willed WV) wife to another:

Recently, I was thinking about my life, past and present. Not uncommon for a woman of my age I'm sure. I was thinking about the Bible. About marriage. About life in general. About the many changes I've lived through and the many-many learning experiences I wish I could have absorbed through paper not living them. But experience is the best teacher...

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Picture This:

It's pretty interesting to me that God used a variety of older folks such as Job, Moses, Ruth, and Paul to record some of the Bible's greatest milestones. Since I'm not getting any younger and I like to write, I reckon now is as good a time as any to take a stand for what I believe. You know, to voice my opinion while I can. So I am going to follow the advice of Aaron Tippin: "You've got to stand for something or you'll fall for anything." And since I don't liking falling enough to do it on purpose (but I do laugh when anyone actually falls down, myself included), I will take a stand right here on the subject of marriage.

Marriage has suddenly become a touchy subject. Maybe not so much with my readers but certainly in America's mainstream. So here goes: I believe that marriage is the first institution created by God and we need to be careful how we treat it. As a conservative Christian my overarching views should be obvious so I am not feeling the need to go there. But instead to take my stand inside the traditional marriage arena. The Bible is clear on how this thing works. I like the precise outlines of Genesis 2 and Ephesians 5. Sadly, in my opinion, yours may vary, there seems to be a widening gap between what is normal for today's marriage and what the Bible says marriage should look like. Words like submit and yield are widely shunned by today's woman. Modern opinions have twisted these words to indicate weakness - and that couldn't be further from the truth. It takes a lot more strength to bend and rise again than never to have bent at all. Consider the old imagery of oak trees and rivers. Oaks are strong by nature yet bend and bow at the winds request. Rivers cut their own path yet follow the boundaries set forth by nature.  

If you are a equally yoked Christian woman, I encourage you to take a stand for your marriage. To make the most of the time you and your spouse have together. To learn to bend a little. To understand that strength comes from knowing who God created you to be. To pray your husband through those times when he is having difficulty taking the lead (and he will have these from time to time). Harness the innate strength we West Virginia women are blessed with and use it to shore up your marriage's foundation.

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Fast Forward to 2016:

Each of us have our own view of what strength looks like. Each of us have our own relationship battles, so each of us need to take a stand for our own marriage. As we pray for the strength to bow and not break in the service of submission, we carve out our life's pathway. When your marriage mirror's God's plan, your individual and collective resilience becomes stronger, more powerful. That's God's way...and He will provide you with the courage to be true to the strong-willed, submissive wife He created you to be. The world would try to convince you otherwise, but I've tried it both ways...and I am strong enough to proclaim: "God's way works." 

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Have a blessed weekend  y'all,

In Christ with love and compassion, 

Coach Kelly

#YourLifeCoachingWV; #BeyondTheMirror; #WVStrong