(Tim) I received a poem by e-mail this past week and asked its author if she would allow me to post it. Here we have a short summary, wonderfully conceived, of the two paths women choose today, one which ends in death and the other in life.
The last few days, our home has been graced by my mother-in-law, Margaret West Taylor, who's visiting for the week. As I think about her sacrificial life, I also look around at other women of my own family and church and I praise God for their godliness! It's hard to conceive of the full spectrum of leadership these women exert among the sons, brothers, pastors, elders, deacons, and husbands, let alone children and other women, as we watch them lose their lives.
Here, then, is the text I received:
* * *
I Think You Want a Wife
Written by, to, and for a woman who thinks far too much of herself to surrender her life for her husband; but ultimately, to God.
I think you want a wife, not a husband.
Someone to join with
you, to make
you into your true self, to follow
you wherever
your heart leads.
A man to validate
your feelings, make
you sure of who
you are.
You realize your full potential.
I think you want a wife, not a husband.
One to support
your work, to stand by
your side,
affirming, affirming, affirming, affirming, affirming, affirming
affirming, affirming, adoring, affirming, affirming, affirming
to make you feeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeel
Worthy of you
A wife - who worships
you.
sleeps
dreams
wakes
lives
for you.
Who demands no loss of self
no submission
no obedience.
Who is your god?
You
are salvation
a deity
Isis herself
---------------------------------------
Will you be a wife?
Lay
you in the casket
To be one man's
Help
Mate
To follow
respect
submit
obey
Will you stand behind a man?
Purge
you of dignity
you of self-determination
Will you be weak
so He will be strong?
Will you be a wife?
to
one
man
Rid
you of ambition
He
is you now
u
disappear
-Mrs. Joseph Tate Bayly VI
