The S Word

This summer, my husband Mark and I cruised to Cozumel to celebrate our ten-year anniversary. We had an incredible time and were thrilled beyond belief when an email survey landed in our inbox a few days after we returned home. Now I'm not usually a survey girl, but this was no ordinary survey. Upon completion of our customer satisfaction survey, we would be entered for a chance to win a FREE cruise!

So you can imagine how ecstatic I was a few weeks later when I received a call from Cruise and Land Promotions announcing that we won! I hurriedly scratched the trip details on a scrap piece of paper and hung up with the customer service agent. My fingers danced over the keypad of my cell phone as I dialed my husband's work number.

Our conversation went something like this.

Me: MARK!!!!! We won! We won the cruise! You know, from when we completed the survey!

Mark: Are you sure, Stephanie? It's free? Nothing in this world is free. Are you sure it's not a scam?

Me: Mark, this is a blessing. Why are you so negative all the time? It's free, except for the government taxes. You know the company can't wave taxes!

Mark: Stephanie, we'll talk about this when I get home.

Me: {Huff} Ok, but we have to call the company back by 6 p.m.

When Mark strolled through the door at 5:45, I was on the phone with the cruise company. After all, we only had 15 more minutes to make a decision! His skeptical look warned me I was in for a battle.

I covered the mouthpiece of the phone and asked Mark to hand me the credit card. He said, "Stephanie, I don't have a good feeling about this. I still think it's a scam!" I shoved the phone at Mark so the customer service rep could convince him that the deal was legit.

After a few minutes, Mark handed me the phone. "Book it," he said.

I did, of course, and was overjoyed until later that evening when Mark approached me with a sullen look on his face. He had just Googled the cruise company and discovered that his hunch was right after all. There was entry upon entry on the internet from people who had been taken for a "free" ride.

Suddenly the sting of conviction pierced my soul. If only I had been willing to submit.

According to Strong's concordance, submit means to be subject or accountable to another. It involves a voluntary attitude of giving in.

Subjection.

Accountability.

Giving In.

I don't know about you, but those aren't things I do naturally.

The beautiful thing is, I don't have to! The Holy Spirit is at work in me to lead me into all truth. And since He doesn't ever speak one word on His own authority, I'm guessing He knows a thing or two about submission!

John 16:12-14 (NKJV) says, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.

These words comfort me as I continue to cultivate a heart of submission towards my husband. I know that it'll be a lifelong process, but I praise God that He's given me a perfect picture within the Trinity of what submission looks like. And just as the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus through submission, I hope that through submission to my husband I'll bring Him glory as well.