Submission in the Small Things!

Here we go with that wonderful word: submission!  :)

Being a submissive wife has been my goal since day one of my marriage. Yet, at least for me, it is much easier to dream about being submissive than it is to actually be submissive. I may be an expert submitter (is that a word?) in many some only a couple of areas, but there are only a couple some many areas in which I still have room to grow! So, I am always learning new lessons about what it means to be a truly submissive wife. Recently I learned to submit in the small things.

Our youngest daughter is almost seven months old and recently started eating baby food. As you can imagine, she still gets a little messy! Personally, I avoid putting my children in nice clothes so that I'm not phased by the common spill. That being said, after a day or two of feeding our little one, my husband kindly asked me if I would make sure to put a bib on her every time I fed her in order to avoid stains. I respected his wishes  at first simply because he was around for her feeds, but the other day while he was at work, I had an internal conversation with myself on what I should do. I had the baby food and spoon in hand as I walked past the drawer where we keep the bibs. I paused for a second and thought, "Do I really need to put a bib on her? My husband isn't home and I'm the one doing the laundry anyway. Would he even notice?"

It was at that moment the Lord spoke into my heart the phrase, "Submission in the small things." It was so clear it was almost audible. I thought about it for a second and then said it out loud. And with that I grabbed a bib from the drawer and fed my daughter all while thinking about that simple, yet deep, phrase.

If I'm not submitting to my husband in the small things... the teeny tiny things... what would spur me to submit to him in the bigger things? As stated in an earlier blog post, submission is a lifestyle. It is something that should be (over time and with lots of practice) something that is as natural as breathing. It should not be something that I pick and choose. I'll submit to this, but not to that. He'll never know if I don't put a bib on her. My husband had asked me to do something and as long as it doesn't go against Scripture then I should obey. Without hesitation. Without weighing all my options. Without pausing to have an internal conversation with myself.

I realized that it was in that moment where I wondered if I should grab the bib that I stopped submitting. Granted, I ended up making the right choice, but I should have simply grabbed the bib from the beginning instead of thinking of other options. That isn't a submissive heart. Now, I realize that what I'm talking about here is a bib! A bib! Something where truly no harm would be done if I had forgotten, but harm would have been done if I simply didn't do it. As "harmless" as a bib is... it is the concept. The practice. If my heart is one in which I'm trying to do things that go against what my husband has asked me specifically to do as long as he doesn't find out - then I clearly have some heart work to do! If I can't be trusted to submit in the little things how can I be trusted to submit in the big things?

Sometimes it makes me so sad to see the sin in my own heart. To see how I want to get around things. Yet, being aware of that makes me realize how diligent I need to be at all times and not allow small compromises in regards to the little things so that I can build up a natural response to submit without hesitation - in matters both large and small!