1 Peter 3 for Melissa

So tonight I was writing in my journal and praying for my relationship with Robert. Specifically how I can meet Robert's needs because Robert won't ever tell me! (The jury's still out on whether he's really that laid back or just afraid to answer when I ask.) And today I've been wrestling with a whole bunch of selfish feelings and their correct opposites flying around my head... picture New York City interchange at 7 AM. It's exhausting. So I thought I'd type it all out here as that often helps me think through it all more clearly.

So after praying for a bit and confessing all sorts of fleshly yuckiness, better known as SIN, I felt led to search my Bible for scriptures specifically speaking of a wife's behavior toward her husband. The first one I thought of was 1 Peter 3: 3-4. I've had it memorized for a long time.

Your adornment must not be merely external-braiding the hair, and wearing gold jewelry, or putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of the heart, with the imperishable quality of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is precious in the sight of God.

That's a beautiful passage, and certainly one to remember and strive toward.

So if that wasn't enough for one evening, I decided to pull out Robert's Key Word Study Bible (love this Bible!!) and dig in a bit. After all my defining, here's what I came up with:

submissive - submit oneself unto
disobedient - disbelieving of
chaste - clean, pure
adornment - orderly arrangement
heart - thoughts, feelings
gentle - humble, meek
quiet - keeping one's seat, sedentary, still, peaceable
spirit - rational soul, mental disposition

My paraphrase of 1 Peter 3:1-4:
---you Melissa, submit yourself unto Robert, so that if he is disbelieving of the word, he may be won over without a word by your behavior as his wife, as he observes your pure and respectful behavior. Your orderly arrangement must not be merely external - braiding the hair and wearing gold jewelry and putting on dresses; but let it be the hidden person of your thoughts and feelings, with the imperishable quality of a humble, meek, sedentary, still, peaceable mental disposition, which is precious in the sight of God.

So I totally confess that my thoughts and feelings at this juncture are not sedentary or still, let alone humble and meek! ("Meek" is kind of an enigma to me anyway.) I was already trying to be a good, supportive, loving, serving wife. But boy, do I have a long way to go. I thought that by keeping it all in my head, I was doing okay. But I was way off. My thoughts swirling around like a blizzard are sin, even if they're not bad thoughts. They're a far cry from a still, sedentary (are you kidding?!?), mental disposition.

Change me, God, and make me more like You. And thank You for not leaving me in the dust.