Recent events in my life have led me to think a lot about serving and giving. My husband became very ill and was in and out of hospitals for a short time. The hospital stays were brutal, but the real work began when he was released and we went home. Caring for my husband and trying to maintain our home at “my” standard was leaving me exhausted to the point that I feared I would also become ill. I recall praying to our heavenly Father and asking Him for the strength and health to continue at what was a dangerously reckless pace.

The role of women in society has been greatly misunderstood throughout history, which has caused the human family great sorrows. Today we see a gamut of ideas about women’s roles. There are some cultures in which women are considered little more than slaves and are denied basic rights. At the opposite end of the spectrum, we find radical feminists who advocate the abolition of marriage altogether. They espouse the idea that women do not need men to be fulfilled. It is not God’s intent for women or men to go through life alone. God said, “It is not good that man should be alone; I will make him a helper comparable to him” (Genesis 2:18).