Staying Home with the baby

Yesterday I posted "I believe that a hierarchical relationship in marriage is simply wrong." So when we drove to church this morning I was expecting an Angel of the Lord to be standing at the door of the church with a flaming sword in one hand and a loud-speaker in the other. I thought that he would put the trumpet to his lips and bellow "Suzanne, you have been kicked out of the garden."

Well, it didn't happen like that. We trooped in the same as ever and sat down in our pew. Paterfamilias, materfamilias, puerfamilias, but puella was away at a youth retreat. Then my husband picked up the program and gave me an odd look. There was the first hymn of the service,

Now there is no male or female,
Now there is no free or slave
Now there is no Jew or Gentile
In the earth Christ died to save
Christ has set us free for freedom
We no more sing slavery's creed
Old submissions cannot claim us
Christ has set us free indeed.

Crucified with Christ the Saviour
Baptized in his holy death
And as Christ was raised to glory
We have new life on this earth
Power of water and God's naming
Turning us from dark to light
Joins us to those who before us
Ran the race and fought the fight

Death has no dominion o'er him
So for us death holds no power
Life's own waters now have marked us
Born to God this very hour
From this moment and forever
Dead to sin, alive to Christ
Born of water and the Spirit
Now in Christ we find our life.

So my husband looks at me as if to say, "You are not only not submissive, but you must be telekinetic as well." Actually this is yesterdays news to him.

After the service we went for coffee and there was Fiona and Jim with a one year old baby. Fiona has been a practicing accountant for 25 years, a real professional woman. She and her husband have just adopted a daughter. I held the child for about five minutes and then she swiveled her head, screwed up her face and held out her chubby little hands to her father of two weeks. The recognition on her face as she strained in his direction brought tears to our eyes. There will be a lively discussion in that home about who will get to stay home with the baby!