Our only daughter, Dianne, has not yet found the
man God has for her life. In fact, she has not really seemed too
interested. As her mother, I am not the least concerned that she
might "miss the boat". To be honest, I am not sure that even now she
is ready to settle down enough to commit herself to all that
marriage requires. And, she has not found anyone that even I felt
she was in love with, to the point of spending a lifetime with him.
However, I am aware that it could happen suddenly.
If Dianne announced she was planning to marry,
what would I want her to know? Let me insert here that I have no
crash course before the wedding. If I have not already taught her
through the years of watching me as a wife, mother, and homemaker,
then all the lectures and final exhortations will be in vain.
God Has A Plan
God's plan is they only plan for establishing a
home and He gives us a marriage manual --the Bible. It is a How To
Do It book written by the One Who made us and knows how to make us
happy. If she and her husband-to-be- would accept it as the final
authority and agree to obey its rules and guidelines, they would
solve a major part of the problems that arise. A husband would learn
what God expect of him in relation to his wife, and she would find
out how to make her husband a happy man.
I would want her to have God's command to
submission in perspective even as the husband is to love his wife
unconditionally.
Put Her Husband In His Proper Place
I want Dianne to make her husband the center of
her life, second only to God. He would become her primary career.
She would learn that men are "different". I am sure that she has
learned well, since she grew up in the same household with her
father and two brothers. Males have a personality, goals, manners
and body that is in no way like that of females. To Dianne, this
might come easy, but for many girls growing up in an all female
household, it an be frustrating and easy to misunderstand the
personality characteristics of the male gender.
A Healthy Concept Of The Physical Side Of
Marriage
God ordained sex before sin entered into the
world. He designed this part of marriage for pleasure and
fulfillment of both the husband and wife. As one writer said, "the
celebration of love." I would want her to understand the many phases
of love, and to be forever the romantic, even though the feelings of
ecstasy may ebb and flow.
Understand The Importance of The Home
I want Dianne to understand how important the
home is, and her own responsibility of making it a heaven on earth.
She can make it a living place, a hiding place, and a castle for the
king of her life. Each member of the family needs a place of refuge
and nourishment, a place where they feel loved and appreciated. This
is a great responsibility. Her own attitudes regarding her husband,
her home, sex and children would be the power that shapes and molds
the lives of those with whom she comes in contact.
Keep Growing Intellectually.
Many ladies allow themselves to become mentally
stagnated after marriage, pulling their own little world in around
them. I want Dianne to keep learning, keep reaching out with the joy
of living that is so characteristic of her.
Guard Her Appearance
I want her to take time to do the personal
necessities of grooming and also the discipline of controlling her
eating habits and proper exercise.
As you can see, this is quite a list. I could
think of so many more. I am aware I have been her chief role model
through these years and I hope she learns to cling to the right
things and learn not to do the things in which I err. She has seen
my mistakes and those of others with whom she has been associated. I
pray that if and when the time comes to walk the aisle, she will
have it all in perspective. As she begins to build a home it will be
one that could be set on a hill as an example for other to follow.