Daughters of Promise March/April 2015 | страница 11

rest in knowing that I had been obedient.
We went home from that conference and had a few
days before our family was scheduled to travel to a
church where my husband would be speaking for a
week of meetings. The very first morning back home,
we were just finishing up family devotions when the
phone rang. Seeing that it was Mom calling, I quickly
answered it. I was very excited to find out that they
were stopping in for a visit. That was a rare occurrence
since they lived 2,000 miles from us on the West Coast.
I remember planning with her that I would invite
over some friends from our neighborhood whom my
parents wanted to see while traveling through.
When I hung up the phone I became aware of a
strained silence. Now for those of you who know my
family, you understand that that in itself is a modern
day miracle! Sitting across from me was my husband
with a very guarded what’s-she-gonna-do-next look

on his face. On the other side of the room, my girls
were poised for flight with a caught-in-the-headlights
glaze in their eyes. I knew I was missing something, but
what?
Steve finally came to my rescue by cautiously asking
if my parents were coming, and then followed up
with a very strange question. “Honey, how would you
have responded to that phone call say…a whole
week ago?” Again I was puzzled. What was he trying
to say? And that was when the light dawned, and I
began to see what God had done in my life earlier
that week.
You see, control can come out of our life in so many
different ways! One of the ways it came out in mine
was in how clean my house had to be if my family
came. I would bark orders like a drill sergeant! I had
my girls well trained. They were poised for flight and
ready to rush wherever I ordered. I was operating out
of a need to control my little world.
That need went all the way back to when I was a little
girl who could not understand why anyone would
choose to stay inside and clean the house when they
had a chance to drive a tractor. I well remember
my family’s expressions of pity for my future husband
who would not like a sloppy wife who didn’t keep the
house clean. I know they were meant for my good,
but for some reason those words went painfully deep,
and when anyone from my family showed up to visit, I
would be worn out from cleaning every corner before
they arrived.
That day when Steve helped me to see that something
had dramatically changed, I realized that life was
never going to be the same. Something that had
been a part of my life as long as I could remember
was finally gone. That awful, dark feeling I would get
in the pit of my stomach was gone! And with it gone,
a whole new world opened up to me....

TO BE CONTINUED...
In Part II, Dorcas will take a deeper look at the matriarchal
spirit, helping women identify its damaging patterns in their
lives, and break free through the power of Jesus Christ.

...THE SECOND THING WAS AN
AWFUL LOT OF STRENGTH AND
FORCEFULNESS COMING FROM
SOMEWHERE INSIDE ME. I WAS TRULY
WORRIED. WHAT IF I WOULD ONE DAY
BECOME JUST LIKE THOSE WOMEN?
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