They still bear fruit in old age; they are full of sap and green … Psalm 92:14

In the book, Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood,* by John Piper and Wayne Grudem, Piper writes, “… in winning people over to a vision of (biblical) manhood and womanhood there must also be a portrayal of the vision that satisfies the heart as well as the head. Or put another way, we must commend the beauty as well as the truth of the vision. We must show that something is not only right but also good … not only valid but valuable, not only accurate but also admirable.”

It is that sense of satisfaction and delight in marriage lived God’s way that is so notable in Mary Jo Walker’s story, and as she concludes, “Now it is FUN!”

My husband, Les, and I have been married for sixty-two years. As a thirty-one year graduate of The Cry of the Hidden Heart study, I can say that we have a blessed and lovely marriage. My study of wives and women of the Bible began with less than half a dozen women. We truly had no idea the adventure God had for each of us.

I started in Genesis, the first book, with God’s revelation of His creation of Heaven and earth and everything in and on it. I loved reading about Adam and Eve’s creation and the plan of God to use families to inhabit His earth. In Chapter 12, we read that God chose the man Abraham as the father of Faith for all His children. This is a shocking and fascinating story revealing to me His plan for every man and wife in Creation to leave the old life and follow Him into the new.

I read and reread Chapters 15-25 of Genesis over and over studying Sarah’s role and obedience to God in many surprising situations. I learned a lot about God and myself in the process.

I found another fascinating and challenging passage of Scripture in the New Testament – 1 Peter 3:1-6. Wow! I read it many times before I could truly accept the message God was giving to me. I was made to stare at my rebellious spirit for the first time. I realized that it was very present in my relationship with my loving Father as well as with my husband. My mentor, Sarah, in all her situations did not rebel against Abraham more than once (the story of Hagar and Ishmael.) I was learning! Sarah became beautiful in my eyes, and I wanted to be beautiful also. I began shocking my husband by not arguing over every decision and tried to roll with his tide not mine. This was not only huge for me but it evoked a big inner struggle. However, our marriage relationship began to change.

God’s love began to enter not only my heart for my husband, but God began to change Les’ heart. He began to show more patience, thoughtfulness, gentleness, and selfless love. Remember I am speaking 31 years later and trying to remember it accurately. This is the result of all that I have written. I feel like I have skimmed over the surface of God’s faithfulness. Sometimes it was like digging ditches but God continued to love most of the resistance out of my soul. I am so far from perfection it would make your head spin, But now at age 81, I can say it is FUN!

Mary Jo was one of the original Sarah’s Daughters, and the sparkplug for getting our years of study organized. She and Les now live in Colorado and have six grandchildren.

* Recovering Biblical Manhood and Womanhood, a Response to Evangelical Feminisim, John Piper and Wayne Grudem, Crossway Books, Wheaton, IL, 1991.