A work in progress

And so it begins. Let me start you off with the quote I promised, from a book I wish all people who are or wish to be married would read. It is titled He Her Honour and She His Glory. I have yet to see the correlation of earthly marriage to Christ's relationship to the Church laid out so well. With regard to the trials of motherhood, Pastor Grieger writes:

"To be a girl is easy enough, if you are born that way. To be truly feminine is a charming art that does take some effort, but is admired by all. To be a successful wife requires special tenderness and loving self-surrender, but is the glory of womanhood. But to be a devoted mother is the ultimate acheivement of woman that makes her a blessing that will live in the hearts of her children all their life, and which ultimately shapes the nation. While it does admittedly require effort and patience to be a good mother, this is what we need to become truly mature and understanding people. Children are meant to put us through the mill, and try us in numerous ways. It is this agitation and friction that finally polishes us to become glorious gems that sparkle and radiate understanding and tenderness. It produces a beauty and glory in woman of the deepest and most lasting nature. It is her family and motherhood that truly perfect a woman and bring her to her ultimate glory, and in doing so also bring true honour to her husband. A woman who has selfishly avoided having children in her most glamorous years, may think she has an advantage, but when she is older, and ceases to be an attraction to those around her, especially if her husband dies, she will find she has few friends that mean much to her and that life is not rewarding, as she must sit alone in her house, no longer loved and cared about. The mother of a well-managed family, on the other hand, will find that there are new joys , and precious highlights in her life right through to the end, as her children marry, and present her with one grandchild after another. She becomes the dear, understanding, and gracious queen mother that is the centre of devotion and admiration for so many.

Lest we have a misunderstanding, this is all in the context of how God presents His bride, the Church to Himself in the robe of righteousness won by Christ's death and resurrection. Similarly, the "glory" and "perfection" of which Pr. Grieger speaks is that which God sees in us only through Christ. For anyone curious, the author is a pastor in the Australian Lutheran Church. He and his wife Joyce, who died two years before the book was published, were blessed with seven children.