November 7th marks the 32nd anniversary of my bearing the title Mrs., one that carried many more responsibilities than I was aware of when I received it back in 1975. In fact, it is safe to say that I had no substantial guidelines in place back then from which to operate. I figured it couldn't be all that difficult or different to be married - after all most people ended up married and I was at least as capable as they.
It wasn't until I embraced the perspectives of Scripture that I began to see that there were definite standards by which to judge myself as a good or bad wife and to determine whether or not I had a good marriage. Parenting added to the mix in a positive way, because it forced me to become organized and consistent in how I approached my duties. Thanks to a biblical worldview, duties became much more important than rights. I learned that I had the right to remain obedient (to God and His Word), and blessings would result when I obeyed, and the opposite would result when I didn't.
Many acknowledge the vital role that the mother plays in the homeschooling endeavor. But, I think far too little credit is given to the same woman's role as wife. The success of a homeschool has as much to do with how a woman relates to her husband as it does how she relates to her children. Unfortunately, not a lot of preparation goes into the education of young girls in this area. We spend lots of time ensuring they know the basic academic subjects, and possibly how to perform household tasks, but do we really encourage training in how to be a good wife? Culturally, much more time is spent on planning the wedding than on planning the marriage.
I am forever grateful for the theological and mentoring assistance of two departed saints who have as much to do with this anniversary being reached as my husband and I. For it was through those many Sundays spent in Vallecito, CA under the tutelage of the Rushdoonys--Rush and Dorothy--that we learned how to value and care for our marriage. In many ways, it's their anniversary as well.
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On our 7th anniversary my husband and I happened to be at a yogurt shop. There was this cute, elderly couple seated together, side-by-side on a bench. We engaged them in conversation which got around to the fact that we were celebrating our anniversary. The man told us they had over 50 years of marriage together. My husband asked him if he had any words of wisdom. His reply, "You won't really know her until after 25 years of marriage!"
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