Wearing the Trousers

Last month, I have been made aware of a certain fear which I did not know I possess - legal cases. There had been allegations against our company which I have to face, being the representative of the management. Being a law abiding citizen, any “legal” case, however small or big it is, melts my knees, much more now that it involves our company, and it did not help either having a lawyer for a brother. So when this legal thing cropped up, I knew I am in for many sleepless nights.


Why was I sleepless? Firstly, however right my stand is, I am in a foreign land and I do not know how law is handled here. Secondly, I dread the thought of involving our sponsor in this issue, which may give us a not-so-good impression as managers of their company. Lastly, I did not have anyone to discuss this with personally, as I have to keep a strong front among my staff though most of my colleagues have a thing or two to say about the issue, either to help or worse, to criticize.


Three days after, I have to confront my fear. The sleepless nights, stirred with hours of prayers and cries to our mighty God, helped me face my “den of lions”. I was able to talk straight to the local guy, and without much evidence, he dropped the allegations. I praise God for behind this awful situation, I saw His wonderful working. Looking back, I have learned a great deal of reality. Besides the fact that God is always there to the weary soul, I learned more about “wearing the trousers”.


Usually in a company, those under the management are quick to criticize decisions made by their heads without really looking into the whole thinking process that person went through, like the ordeal that I had. Either small decision or big ones, the head always have so many things to factor in which may not always be perfectly understood by the others. When I was just handling one department, my view is very limited, wherein I only think about the benefits of my own sphere. And now that I am handling the whole company, looking at the big picture, I was amazed at how things are very different from that perspective. My decisions have not always been well-accepted, because not everyone knows the intermingling factors that go with it. I know it for a fact, for I myself have many times questioned the decisions our former management made.



Cascading this corporate scenario to the family, I may say I have been given the rare real opportunity to be in a man’s shoe. Just like in a company, most wives are quick to point out the faults of their men. But as I realized, it is not easy always being the head and the source of strength of the family. The daily decisions that have to be made, the responsibility of looking over a number of people they love, and meeting the expectations of the outside world is just too much to handle. And then add to this the physical, spiritual, mental and emotional weariness, the fears that haunt them and the unwelcome remarks thrown their way. Without God’s mercy and grace, I think many of the men would have given up the race.


Having experienced this, my consolation is that I am a woman, and I can easily get a vacation from work or give up this position and choose to live a simpler life. But to the men, this is what they have been called for, for life. Either as a family man, a preacher, a deacon or a head of a ministry, they all lead in one way or another. And as women, either wives or singles, we ought to help them make it a pleasurable lifetime duty by being cooperative, understanding, and more prayerful. And being given the modern right to express our thoughts, remember that if in case we have to disagree, do it agreeably.


The wisdom of God in making the roles of men and women different should not be messed up by our ideas of equality or liberalism. After all, it is God who sees the “big picture”. He is our ultimate perfect Leader who does not err, does not grow weary and neither does He have fears.