Encouragement for Wives

In a chapter titled, "So Show Me What a Keeper at Home Really Looks Like!", author Jennie Chancey tells this great story about her greatest heroine, her mom:

My mother once participated in a Bible study with several older women. These women were quite liberal in their beliefs and insisted all those teachings in Proverbs 31 and Titus 2 were purely cultural and time bound and didn't apply to modern-day Christians. Mom quietly disagreed, stating that true freedom only comes from submission--to God first, then to a husband. Jaws dropped all around the room, and one attendee burst out, "Why, Bettie! You're the most liberated woman I've ever known! Just look at all the things you've done!" My mother smiled and looked around at the shaking heads and shocked expressions. "That's just the point," she replied. "Submission is the freedom to be creative under a God-given authority! Submitting to my husband does not stifle my gifts; it puts them to their best use. My husband wisely directs the projects I undertake in the home and helps me to see when I am taking on too much. He knows my talents and can often tell me how best to use them." Heads continued to shake around the room. One after another, these older women confessed frustration with their "equal" marriages and marveled at my mother's contentment and joy as a submitted wife.

~Passionate Housewives Desperate For God, pgs. 164-165