Compete or Complete In Genesis 2:18, we read that "The Lord God said, ‘It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him." We can gain insight into what being a "suitable helper" is by examining the meaning of the words. A helper is "a person who contributes to the fulfillment of a need." Suitable means "appropriate for a condition." So we see that a "suitable helper" is one who is appropriately created to contribute to our husband fulfilling God’s plan. We, as wives, are the helpers that God created for our husbands. Even though we are different in many ways, we are suitable for them. God created us to help them become all that He created them to be. We are God’s gift to complete them. How do we complete them? By encouraging, supporting, honoring, submitting and praying for them. Without our encouragement, they will never aspire to reach their full potential. Without our support, they will never fulfill their destiny or experience fulfillment. Without our honor, they will never be respected or respectful. Without our submission, they will never become the priest of our home. Without our prayers, they will never be the man of God, husband, or father that God created them to be. We complete them when we are the woman and wife that God desires us to be. In being the person that God has created us to be, we become a suitable helper for our husband. God created us with the unique capacity to help our husband. Remember that a helper is one who "contributes to the fulfillment of a need." We are created to help fill a need in their life, not fill the need. Only God can fill the deep needs in their life. Each one of is created with needs that others are to help meet, but no one person will fill every need. God creates us to be interdependent upon one another for help, but only dependent upon Him to fill every need. Our loving Father created us for one another. All too often, we forget that we are created to complete our husband, not compete with him. Sometimes, we do this so subtly that we don’t even realize we do it. However, there are a few obvious ways. We can compete with them when we desire and demand attention from others. We compete with them when we desire credit for something. We compete with them when we don’t allow them to make decisions because we believe we can do it better or are afraid they will make a mistake. What a tragic mistake to compete with the one we have the opportunity to complete. Not only do we hinder our husband when we compete with them, we hinder what God can do in us and for us. We also assume a masculine role that God never intended for us to take on. You may be asking, "But what about me? Who completes me?" Just as we complete our husband, so does he complete us. When we truly step back and take our eyes off of our unmet needs and help our husband the way God intended, he will become the man, husband, and father that God created him to be. Then will he be better able to help us. There is one letter that changes the word compete to complete – the letter l. The letter l reminds me of the French word elle. It is a feminine word that means "she." When we stop trying to fill pants that we weren’t created to fill, we will no longer be a masculine competer, but a feminine completer. Carole Korakas, WaterMark Ministry, www.watermarkministry.org