As a response to my “Adam, Where Are You” devotion from yesterday Jennifer Brown, A member of our church and founder of Hope in the Lord Ministries, (www.hopeintheLord.org), offered a woman’s perspective on the upcoming Father’s day. Here are Jennifer’s thoughts:

There are some things a man just can’t say to a woman. I appreciated Pastor Chuck’s call to men yesterday, but felt there was a piece missing – a call to women. But I knew it wouldn’t go over well coming from a man because we women don’t want to listen to a man tell us what to do. We live in a society that has glorified and lifted women above men. Men in the media are often shown as bumbling idiots who can’t get anything right while women are the ones who know everything and come in and save the day. We’ve even written new fairy tales so that the prince does not rescue the princess any longer, but the princess rescues him. And we’ve turned men into quasi-women: they care about fashion, spend time on their hair, and try to be skinny. I don’t want that! I want a strong man who will lead my family, provide for us, and protect us.

But ladies, I think we have created this problem. The men didn’t step down, we took over. Deep down don’t you really think you know best in your family? Haven’t you had moments where you thought this would all be so much easier if your husband wasn’t around and you could do things your way? We all do, and I’m sure it’s one of the reasons our divorce rates are so high.

With Father’s Day around the corner, let’s give the men in our lives the gifts they truly deserve, the gifts God commanded us to give them: respect and submission. As Chuck pointed out yesterday, they are the ones responsible for our families. They have to answer to God for our actions as well as theirs. Would you want that burden? I would not! What if, rather than trying to usurp their power and get things our way, we instead chose to trust God to guide them? What if we stopped fighting against them and instead determined to help them? And, what if, instead of thinking about how much better off we would be without them, we devoted ourselves to praying for them? God knows our husbands. He knows our futures. He has the power to guide them and provide the answers and wisdom they need for our families. Maybe it’s time for us women to stop trying to be the ones in control, give the reigns back to God, and let our husbands assume their rightful role in our families?