I am woman, hear me... submit?

Submission. Just the idea of that word gets backs up, claws out and defensive knives sharpened. In today’s vocabulary the word “submission” is right up there with the worst of the worst.

Thanks to those who have used and abused that word in order to dominate and take advantage of women, the idea of a wife submitting to her husband is considered a thing of the past. Even in Christian circles, among those who claim to know and understand God’s word, the topic of submission is avoided at all costs. And while, admittedly, the concept of submission has been twisted by those interested only in abusing and demeaning women, I believe it is not submission itself that is wrong, but the way in which we interpret and live out the concept.

I must confess that I am not your average 21^st century woman. While I am strong, confident, independent and outspoken, at 34 years of age I would gladly give up my career to stay home loving and caring for my husband. I am proud to be known as Mrs. Sherman Lau. I consider it not my choice, but rather my duty as Sherman’s wife, to cook, clean, and support him in the adventure God has called him to. I willingly stand behind him in support, not beside him or even in front of him in competition. Many would view this as negative submission. But if that is your view of submission, than I fear you have it all wrong.

Submitting to my husband does not mean losing myself, or allowing him to walk all over me. Submitting to him does not mean I have no voice, or no freedom to do as I wish. Instead, I propose that true submission brings with it a far greater freedom and worth than the feminist movement ever dreamed. As a God-fearing, submissive wife, I consider myself to be happier, more fulfilled and even more confident than those who are fighting so hard not to submit. I believe that true submission – as God intended – is what makes me equal, and in many ways yielding more than power than, my husband.

It is my desire then, to help change the way we view the idea of submission. The longing of God’s heart is NOT that I submit and become a slave to my husband, but that instead I support him, understand him, believe in him, make a home for him, realize my influence on him, and trust him as the leader of our home.

My husband has been called by God to be the head of our home and, to quote a famous line from Spiderman, “with great power comes great responsibility!” In the end when we stand before the Lord, my husband will be held accountable for how he leads his family. With that huge burden on his shoulders, my role as his wife is to support him or lighten the load for him when I can. To believe in him when he struggles to believe in himself. To make a home for him, and ensure it’s a place of refuge for him when he comes home tired from fighting life’s battles. Submission means realizing the influence I have over him, and using that influence to help, not harm, him. And finally I am to trust him. To trust in his wisdom as he follows God’s guidance in leading our family. In submitting in this way, I don’t lose, but rather gain a happy, strong, confident, loving, respectful, and even passionate husband. My willingness to submit as God intended me to, allows my husband to be the man God truly intended him to be. How could a husband, who is living 100% in tune with God’s plan and purpose, bring me anything but full contentment and fulfillment as a woman? What greater responsibility, with the exception of those privileged enough to raise children, is there than the responsibility of a submissive wife?

Support. Understand. Believe. Make a home for. Influence. Trust. I am woman, hear me submit!

“True strength lies in submission which permits one to dedicate his life, through devotion, to something beyond himself.” Henry Miller