Knowing that he was submitted to God first and foremost made that a lot easier for me to do. And when I think back on it, our decision to remain celibate was like practice in submission.

“Before we got into a relationship with one another, we were just friends for about 7 years, which was great. Once we started courting, we made a decision to honor God and wait until marriage to have sex. This was one of the best decisions we made because it truly gave us a chance to cultivate a strong relationship, which set a solid foundation for our marriage, but it didn’t make it perfect. By the time we got married, I was 1 month shy of turning 30 and quite used to doing things my own way, when, and how I wanted to do them. So we definitely ran into a few challenges and power struggles completely merging our lives together! And honestly, I had a bit of an issue with submission because although I was very aware of the scripture that says wives should submit to their husbands, I was only half on board with it lol. The word submission always came off to me like it was about the man controlling everything and the woman not having a say. That didn’t sit well with me. But I learned it wasn’t about that at all… it was about allowing him to take leadership in our marriage, not silencing my voice. Knowing that he was submitted to God first and foremost made that a lot easier for me to do. And when I think back on it, our decision to remain celibate was like practice in submission. Although the decision was a joint one, he definitely took the lead with keeping us on track. Do we agree on every single thing? Not at all — but I love and respect him and he has the same love and respect for me.”

Reflections by @how2dateGodsway