Week Two - Three Nameless Wives

Beside the Well

               It is an odd feeling when you notice that without someone else beside you, no one knows who you are.  I come across this all the time.  I can go to a shop and come in and come out with others recognizing I was ever there, but let my husband go with me and all of a sudden people start talking and taking notice.
               Sometimes I like my anonymity; I’m happy not be noticed; it makes me free to get in and out of places and not waste time chatting.  But other times it hurts my heart to think I am only known as Tom’s wife. 
               The Bible mentions three men of significance, Noah, Lot, and Job.  Each was married, but though their wives played a part in the Bible story, for some reason, the Lord decided to leave them anonymous.
               Even with their anonymity, these women left an example and imprint on history.  Noah’s wife was able to keep her reaction and thoughts about the epic boat journey to herself.  Lot’s wife was salted with love of the world, and Job’s wife opened her mouth in disgust for every generation that followed to read.
               The example of these women teaches me that even if I think no one notices me, my reactions and choices affect those around me.  For example, the cashier might not recognize me without my husband, but if I respond to her with kindness and gratitude, she will remember.  If I am harsh or curt, she will not forget, and the next time I am in with my husband, she will put two and two together.  Her thoughts might be, “How can such a nice man have such a hateful wife?”  That’s not how I want to be thought of, do you?
               I think it’s a matter of pride that makes me grimace when I feel slighted.  And, I’d have to admit it is also stubbornness.  I can be too stubborn to make an effort to speak to people if I’m in a hurry or too thoughtless to think that a smile or a kind word could make a dreary day brighter for someone else.  I need to be more considerate.  Not so I am noticed, but that I notice others. 
               If I am going to remain anonymously as Tom’s wife, then I want to be remembered as a wife who spread light and love as she went along.  And when they see us together, they will think, “What a lovely couple.  What was her name?”