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WIVES
(Continued from page 22)
share man's life and !ove, to
respond to him, and encourage
him.
If a woman willlovingly and con–
sistently do this, any right-minded
man should lavish love and appre–
ciation upon her in return. For this
is the kind of person most meo tru–
ly want to mar ry and with whom
they want to share their lives.
"There are people," said French
essayist, Raoul de Roussey de
Sales, "who transmit to others their
particular emotional atmosphere;
who show you how to love, to suf–
fer, to be happy, to laugh at the
humorous things in life."
This describes the truly feminine
woman. Her mind and heart are
enthusiastically sharing in the ideas
and hopes of the man she !oves. S he
is constantly aware of him and is in
the middle of his hopes and
dreams-not merely an onlooker.
For her husband-and for all
people for that matter-she cares;
things not only happen to her, she
happens to them.
But in all of this, she is
responding to others and especially
to her husband. She is sharing and
furthering their hopes, interests
and joys.
Such a femin ine woman instinc–
tively adapts her mood to that of
her husband whenever possible.
She rejoices in his triumphs, she
weeps with him in his sorrow. Yet,
constantly she bolsters him, bal–
ances him and helps him in every
possible way.
Both in her fami ly and in the
larger society, she is not only
responding but serving. She is con–
stantly attempting to make her
borne a cleaner, more beautiful,
happier place. As part of her hus–
band and family, she is attempting
to do the same thing in the lives of
those around her.
Woman Created to SHARE
When women overlook the place in
life God designed for them and
begin to compete with males, with
other women and even with them–
selves, they are losing their reason
for being! Noting this, one leading
psychiatrist asked many older
career women , "What was the most
November / December 1984
gratifying moment in your life?"
Almost instinctively, they would
reply, "When 1 held my first baby
in my arms." Or, "When my hus–
band first proposed to me." They
never said, "The day l got my first
job." Never, "The first time l
swung a big business deal. "
Yet, by the thousands, women
have come to believe it is beneath
their intellectual station to be a
homemaker and mother. A young
secretary today often considers it
more important to scribble on a
shorthand pad than to maintain a
home, help and inspire her hus–
band, and rear her children to grow
up to be the leaders of tomorrow!
But, if we are willing, the
ANSWER to the whole problem is
found in the simple, yet beautiful
A joyous, stable marriage
does not happen
accidentally.
It
takes the
caring, the sharing and the
dedicated work of two
people who deeply want a
happy borne.
account of woman·'s creation.
lt
is
found in Genesis 2:18 in your
Bible. You may be surprised what
it does NOT say, as well as what it
does say.
God said:
" It
is not good that tbe
man should be alone." Man was NOT
the great, all-conquering hero, self–
sufficient and in need of no help!
Rather, man NEEDED help-and
needed it badly. Man was NOT com–
plete. Rather, each man is INcom–
plete and in need of the help, inspira–
tion, warmth and balance imparted
by the right woman as his wife!
In a way that no animal creature
could, woman was created to SHARE
with man his life, his plans, hopes
and dreams. She was created spe–
cifically to help the man.
Without this help, whicb only
the woman can give, man would
NEVER achieve the full, abundant,
peaceful and balanced life that God
intended. Without giving this help,
woman becomes edgy, frustrated,
resentful, headed up a "blind
alley"-for she is failing to fulfill
the very PURPOSE for which she
was created!
Goals Women Should Bear in Mind
To be truly happy, a woman should
bear in mind the purpose for which
she was created- and set hersel
f
definite GOALS to fulfill in the
accomplishment of that purpose. .
First of all, woman was called to
help and supplement her husband.
She should realize that her hus–
band's success is her success-and
fully SHARE and delight in the
triumphs and achievements of her
husband, because they are partly
her own. Also, she should equally
share in his sorrow and disappoint–
ments- trying always to give the
right kind of balanced and positive
sympathy and encouragement so
that he will rebound to other suc–
cesses in the future.
A second area in which a woman
should cultivate success is that of
bearing and training her children.
Young mothers exert a powerful
inftuence on the leaders of tomor–
row. And women should realize the
overwhelming importance of zeal–
ous ly and joyously dedicating
themselves to this as their highest
physical calling. Far more impor–
tant it is than that of any office
worker or secretary on any leve!.
God instructs older women:
"That they may teach the young
women to be sober, to love their
husbands, to love their children, to
be discreet, chaste, keepers at
home, good, obedient to their own
husbands, that the word of God be
not blasphemed" (Titus 2:4-5).
Here, the great God who created
women tells wives to spend more
time in their own homes, to be good
housekeepers, to be domestically
inclined. Women who objectively
and enthusiastically give them–
selves to their calling are adding
immeasurably to their own happi–
ness and well-being, first of all, and
to that of their family-now and
perhaps for generations to come.
But it goes deeper than that. They
are adding to the entire society in
which tbey live.
How a Woman Can Best Serve
Society
This leads us to another area of
woman's rightful accomplishment:
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