Learning To Submit

I remember the year she asked to go.
She wanted to go away for two weeks to a Christian camp with some of her church friends.
The camp was nearby but it would have been her first time away for an extended time.
She was young and was the first of our children to ask permission for such a thing.

I knew the camp and I knew the people with whom she would be going.
My husband was not agreeable to this whole idea.
She’s too young! he said, reminding me that she had just finished sixth grade.
Maybe another year.

I didn’t agreed with him and gave him my reasons.
Ultimately, he is the head of the house and we would abide by his decision.
I was not happy in my heart.
Our daughter was not happy in her spirit.

A friend of mind talked to me one day after Bible study.
She knew that I was disappointed for my daughter.
You have to listen to your husband; I know it’s hard sometimes.
Even if you don’t fully agree with him, that is what submission is all about.

You just wait.
Honor him in this and make sure that she honors her dad as well and watch what God does.
I’m sure that next year, she will be one of the first to sign up for camp.
I knew she was right but it was still hard.

The time for camp came and many of our daughter’s friends had gone for the two weeks.
We filled the time with family things.
We enjoyed our time together since the summer was underway.
When her friends came back, she listened to their stories; I could see the longing in her eyes.

My friend was right.
The next year, she asked to go to camp again.
This time my husband said, yes!
She was a year older and he had a chance to see the strength of her submission.

Going away to camp that year and a few years after that, paved the way for a missions trip.
Our daughter went to Mexico to work with a missionary and local church there.
She and the others put on puppet shows for the children.
She was so blessed by the children and God allowed her to be a blessing to them as well.

She enjoyed serving on that mission trip and a few years later, wanted to go to China.
A group was going to teach English to the students there.
My daughter desperately wanted to go along with them.
Many people I knew and trusted were part of this group.

This time, it was me that was uneasy.
She wanted an answer but I couldn’t give her one.
I even wrote her a letter of release, blessing her time in China.
However, I couldn’t give it to her.

I could not understand what was wrong.
I did not feel right about this trip to China but I did not know why.
I was terribly uneasy.
I prayed about it but the uneasiness never went away.

The deadline was approaching for signing up for this trip.
I was annoyed at myself for keeping her waiting so long.
I remember the night she was at a youth group event.
I went a bit early to pick her up.

All the parents were outside waiting to go in together to get our children.
A dad was there whose children were in youth group with mine.
The China trip came up in conversation.
I have not given her an answer yet, I admitted.

I am very uneasy about this trip but I don’t know why.
I cannot explain what is wrong but something is not right.
This particular father spoke truth into my heart.
I have learned to never underestimate the discernment of a Christian mother.

If you’re uneasy, then you have to wait; God will show you.
My mind went back to the time she had to wait for an answer concerning camp.
This was still a matter of submission.
However, this time it was not submission to my husband but rather submission to God.

A week went by.
My letter of release and blessing was still in my drawer.
The deadline was days away.
The phone rang.

I wanted to let all the parents know that the trip to China has been cancelled.
It is not safe for us to be there; the health and well-being of the children comes first.
I wanted to know why that decision was made.
The SARS virus had reached epidemic proportions during that 2002–04 outbreak.

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) began in the Guangdong province of China.
The virus was traced back to a 64-year-old Chinese doctor who treated cases in Guangdong.
He traveled to Hong Kong to attend a wedding.
He checked into the Metropole Hotel on the ninth floor.

Those infected had been either medical staff or family members of people who had fallen ill.
It was believed that respiratory precautions were not put in place.
All around the world people were infected.
The cases were directly or indirectly traceable to people who had recently visited Asia.

I have learned to never underestimate the discernment of a Christian mother.
I now knew why I could not give her my letter of release and blessing.
I now knew why I was so uneasy.
Without giving me the whole story, God gave me wisdom and caution.

What if I had not submitted to God’s leading?
One could say, the trip was cancelled anyway.
But what would I have learned?
I learned far more by waiting on God than I ever would have learned trying to go ahead of Him.

Submit to God and be at peace with Him; in this way prosperity will come to you. Accept instruction from His mouth and lay up His words in your heart. If you return to the Almighty, you will be restored. (Job 22:21-23)

Submission is a word that many disdain in our culture.
Submission is seen as a sign of weakness.
Nothing could be further from the truth.
Submission is really a sign of gentle strength.

God has a created order that we must follow.
When we follow His order, there is peace and harmony.
When we try to go our own way there is contention and strife.
Through all those incidents with our daughter, I was the one learning submission.

I learned submission to my husband and ultimately to God Himself.
I am a work in progress.
I do not have this all figured out.
I need to cling to my Heavenly Father in order to be instructed in the way I should go.