I’m afraid of the refrigerator noise…
I was reading in Luther’s Small Catechism “The Table of Duties.” The duties for wives struck me for it says, “Do not fear anything that is frightening,” quoting from 1 Peter 3:5-6.
This was kind of odd for me to read. When thinking of the traditional marriage vows and exhortations to wives, one thinks of “submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” It’s just not what one says during marriage ceremonies.
Why should wives not fear anything that is frightening? That is a loaded statement. It acknowledges that there are things on earth that are frightening. So, why should we not be afraid of frightening things?
Early on in the chapter, Peter mentions unbelieving husbands. The notes in my study Bible say that perhaps women are afraid of the wrath of an unbelieving husband. May I suggest that perhaps Peter is really making an astute observation on women?
Throughout the Bible, there are countless instances where people undergo frightening events. “Do not be afraid…” “Fear not…” are common phrases in the Bible. So, in the context of scripture, what is Peter getting at? The fear women have over little things can cause them not to trust in God and their husbands.
Josh put some Iraq pictures up on our desk top when he was home on leave. I do not look at some of them. I’ve become OK with the sight of Josh carrying an M-16 like it is an appendage to his body, but I don’t like the pictures of Josh doing his job or training for various missions. I don’t like war footage from Iraq either. I am afraid Josh will die a horrible death at war.
The first week Josh was gone, I tried sleeping without the TV on. But, see, (and this was October and it was a cold one) the heater started making noise (according to our maintenance guy, it was normal for heaters to sound like it, and sure enough, when Josh was home on leave, the heater still sounded the same). Then someone upstairs got up to use the bathroom. Then the refrigerator went off. And I went up to patrol the parameter every two hours to make sure my doors and windows were locked. I swore someone was going to break in.
The first two months Josh was gone, I would not leave the apartment without one of my Beanies, and more often then not two to three.
Josh’s clothes went unwashed until every last bit of “Josh smell” was rubbed off.
When one grows up with staunch pre-trib Armageddon theology, having ones husband at war in the Middle East is damn scary. And my husband is not here to protect me from the Anti-Christ.
Car problems? No sweat. Finances? Got it covered. But let me tell you all of the different ways something bad is going to happen to me or Josh during the deployment because I have thought of them ALL.
So, Liz, why did you let your husband go off to war and leave you so unprotected from the Boogie Man (and that is exactly what everything amounts to)? That’s not the point. Part of Josh protecting me, he believes, is serving in the military and sometimes that means he goes off to war. And part of being a good wife is learning to trust in God to protect me, even when I am left in a vulnerable situation.
The fleshy woman in me desires protection, stability, security, and a physical presence. God said, “No, Liz, you need to trust in me as it is written in 1 Peter 3.” It is indeed a scary world we live in, and part of being a godly wife is not being afraid of the scary world.
This was kind of odd for me to read. When thinking of the traditional marriage vows and exhortations to wives, one thinks of “submit to your husbands as to the Lord.” It’s just not what one says during marriage ceremonies.
Why should wives not fear anything that is frightening? That is a loaded statement. It acknowledges that there are things on earth that are frightening. So, why should we not be afraid of frightening things?
Early on in the chapter, Peter mentions unbelieving husbands. The notes in my study Bible say that perhaps women are afraid of the wrath of an unbelieving husband. May I suggest that perhaps Peter is really making an astute observation on women?
Throughout the Bible, there are countless instances where people undergo frightening events. “Do not be afraid…” “Fear not…” are common phrases in the Bible. So, in the context of scripture, what is Peter getting at? The fear women have over little things can cause them not to trust in God and their husbands.
Josh put some Iraq pictures up on our desk top when he was home on leave. I do not look at some of them. I’ve become OK with the sight of Josh carrying an M-16 like it is an appendage to his body, but I don’t like the pictures of Josh doing his job or training for various missions. I don’t like war footage from Iraq either. I am afraid Josh will die a horrible death at war.
The first week Josh was gone, I tried sleeping without the TV on. But, see, (and this was October and it was a cold one) the heater started making noise (according to our maintenance guy, it was normal for heaters to sound like it, and sure enough, when Josh was home on leave, the heater still sounded the same). Then someone upstairs got up to use the bathroom. Then the refrigerator went off. And I went up to patrol the parameter every two hours to make sure my doors and windows were locked. I swore someone was going to break in.
The first two months Josh was gone, I would not leave the apartment without one of my Beanies, and more often then not two to three.
Josh’s clothes went unwashed until every last bit of “Josh smell” was rubbed off.
When one grows up with staunch pre-trib Armageddon theology, having ones husband at war in the Middle East is damn scary. And my husband is not here to protect me from the Anti-Christ.
Car problems? No sweat. Finances? Got it covered. But let me tell you all of the different ways something bad is going to happen to me or Josh during the deployment because I have thought of them ALL.
So, Liz, why did you let your husband go off to war and leave you so unprotected from the Boogie Man (and that is exactly what everything amounts to)? That’s not the point. Part of Josh protecting me, he believes, is serving in the military and sometimes that means he goes off to war. And part of being a good wife is learning to trust in God to protect me, even when I am left in a vulnerable situation.
The fleshy woman in me desires protection, stability, security, and a physical presence. God said, “No, Liz, you need to trust in me as it is written in 1 Peter 3.” It is indeed a scary world we live in, and part of being a godly wife is not being afraid of the scary world.
posted by Consecutive Odds @ 9:37 PM
3 Comments:
At 10:48 PM ,
Anonymous said...
i was up with David last night around 3 AM, and i heard noises outside? down in the basement? Couldn't tell, except that it was loud and sounded like a helicopter taking off, or an alien spaceship landing, or any of those special 3 AM sounds you hear when you're supposed to be the brave one. i should have staunched downstairs and looked around for the culprit, or looked out the window, but no, this brave mommy put her son in his crib and went to bed, hoping we weren't in the midst of some sort of nuclear attack.
At 1:19 PM ,
Barb the Evil Genius said...
Interesting post. I usually count on my husband to protect me from the big bad scaries, except when he's not around, and that's what my Bersa is for. :) When it's God that protects us all the time.
At 4:01 PM ,
Consecutive Odds said...
Just goes to show us we need to trust in God. And you know, it's something I've overlooked in reading about husbands and wifes... interesting discussion...
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