Lady Lessons: a godly Wife

It was a hot summer day of June of 2001. I was new to church and new to the whole summer camp experience. As I was sitting on a bench hanging out with a high school friend, I saw a strange looking boy across the field. He had an afro, spong bob socks, and an amazing smile. Wow, he seems like a fun guy I thought to myself. Little did I know that that it would be that fun guy himself that would become my husband ten years later.

I have known my husband for a decade. I met him as a junior in high school, was close friends with him all through college and became his girlfriend on my twentieth birthday. Three years later I became his wife and have been married to him for a year and a half. Its safe to say that I know that boy like the back of my hand. I know how he thinks and what he likes, can predict how he's gonna react to things, and can read his body language like a pro. Having had such a solid friendship foundation, makes being married feel like I'm hanging out with my best friend all day, every day. The world, the media, and even coming from a broken home, painted the portrait of marriage to be a difficult one full of boredom, dread, and even heartbreak.

I remember being in seventh grade and feeling the weight of my parent's divorce weighing heavy on my shoulders. I feared getting married since I was completely convinced that what happened to my parents was bound to happen to me as well. However, beyond what I felt and beyond what I had convinced myself was true, I wanted to trust in God's unshakeable truth that the plans I have for you are to prosper you and not to harm you,plans to give you hope.. Jer. 29:11.

Now that I am married, I can honestly say that I am having an amazing time being a wife. Being young and married in an enormous paradox in today's society. People my age are usually perplexed when they see my wedding ring. Most people believe that I have given up my personal goals and dreams or stop experiencing the world and life itself because I "settled down." Actually, it's quite the contrary. The great part about being young and married is just that.. we're young.. and married. We can go on crazy, spontaneous adventures. We can take risks, try new things, and make drastic life-altering decisions. We have a plethora of opportunities and routes we can take and are early in the game to fix any messes made along the way. All the while, we're a team. We get to experience all that crazy, fun stuff together while being linked together by a deep, emotional, spiritual, and physical connection.

The day I became a wife, I also was being called into a new ministry. As a wife, I serve the Lord by serving my husband. I love serving Julio by supporting him, praying for him, and lovingly submitting to the leadership role the Lord has placed over him. This makes my relationship with God even more intimate since I must rely on His grace daily to fight back my sinful desires to be selfish and I often struggle with laziness.

In return, my husband serves the Lord by loving me the way Christ loves the church. Those are some profound words. Christ died for the church! I'm pretty sure that in small ways, everyday, Julio sacrifices his own desires in order to be a better husband and leader.

Through the past year and a half, I have grown so much more conscious of what God's love is truly like. I can't even begin to count the times God has shown His love for me through my husband. Even through his human imperfections, Julio's love for me is a small reflection of God's heart vast for me; of how God pursues me, forgives me, and loves me despite my flaws and failures.

Are you married or about to become a Mrs. yourself?
What do you enjoy about your relationship and how has God used it to help you grow?


There's a lot of things I like about Betsy, where do I even start? She's witty, pretty, lives on the beach and we share the same culture (Ok, so I might be biased)! But seriously, this lady is more than a wife, and you must read about it on her blog Three-20. She is one of the few bloggers that's naturally her, not aiming to please. I am constantly held accountable by her writings. Thank you Betsy!

[see more of this series here]