I realized that in order to find out what kind of wife God wanted me to be, I first had to truly understand God's purpose for marriage.

"The Great Mystery", was the title of chapter 13 of the book, Created to be His Help Meet. I knew by the title, it was going to present me with both answers and questions. As I read, I was humbled. I prayed and asked God to give me wisdom to understand these concepts and how I was to apply them to my life and marriage.

I started to realize that marriage between a woman and a man was designed for one thing - to bring glory to God. Unlike popular belief, marriage isn't designed to make us a happy, but to make us holy. I started to understand that my marriage to my husband was to bring me closer to God and fulfilling His eternal purpose for my life. Wow, this was pretty heavy stuff!

I began to see my role as a wife in a completely different way. I knew if I committed myself to being what God wanted from me as a wife, I would experience a fulfillment, joy and contentment that could not be explained by human terms.

Ephesians 5:32-33 says, "This is a great mystery: but I speak concerning Christ and the church. Nevertheless let every one of you in particular so love his wife even as himself; and the wife see that she reverence her husband".

There are 12 mysteries listed in the Bible; however only one the seventh is listed as the "great" mystery. I love how Debi Pearl explains it, "Amazing as it sounds, marriage between a man and a woman is what God chose as the closest example of Christ's relationship to his bride, the church. Knowing that my role as a wife typifies the Church's relationship to Christ has molded my life. He seeks to create in me and my relationship to my husband a working scale model of his relationship to the church throughout eternity".

I will share more with you about what I've discovered about being the wife God intended in next week's My Journey.  But for now, I pray that you and yours have a very blessed and Merry Christmas, filled with many joyous and memorable family moments.  But most of all, I pray that you truly experience the reason for the Christmas Season.

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