The wife’s God-given role and special purpose is to be a helper to her husband. God realised that it was not good for man to be alone so he decided to make a helper suitable for him . Man needed a companion, a helper, someone to complete him. God’s high calling to you as a wife is to be the helper fit for him — to help your husband fulfil his responsibilities, his tasks, his roles, his work and his calling from God. To help him become the man and the husband God intended him to be.
In the helper role, the wife is to submit to her husband . Submission has been terribly distorted by the world and is often substituted to mean being timid, docile, passive, yielding, surrendering, giving in, succumbing to, laying down arms, crying, resigning, giving up, slavery, being inferior, obedience, being a non-person, doing everything without question, kneeling or having no voice. The list can go on and on but this is not the way God wanted it. God’s way of submission is very different. God asks the wife to submit to her husband as unto the Lord.
Hupotasso, the Greek word for submission, means “to voluntarily complete, arrange, adapt, or blend so as to make complete whole or complete pattern”. Other descriptions of submission are loyalty, allegiance, faithfulness, obliging, willingness, flexibility and adaptability, blending, consent and agreement to. Submission in the marriage context therefore is to willingly and wholeheartedly complete/blend with your husband’s leadership.
As a helper, the wife must respect her husband. Respect means holding your husband in high regard and to admiring him at all times so that no one can miss it. You are his number one fan and cheerleader, which means you support him all the way. Respect means believing in him and his abilities, appreciating him whenever possible, and requires you to be behind him in all he does and most of all to praise him.
Respect also means revering him, noticing him, regarding him, honouring him, preferring him, esteeming him, and admiring him. It is important to value his opinion, admire his strength, intellect and wisdom. At all times, it is worthwhile to consider his needs and values as valid. This is a great big job for the wife and must never be taken lightly at any stage of the marriage. At times when the children get into the picture, much of this respect is forgotten. But the wife must in turn teach the children to respect their father in whichever form he may come.
The Shulamite woman enjoyed spending time with her husband and being in his presence. She walked with him and complimented him for being a good friend. Is your husband a good friend? Are you proud of him and his abilities? Do you stand up for him even when he is not doing so well? That is what respect is all about.
The wife is also to love her husband. This friendship (phileo) love is a willing and determined love that is not based on a husband’s worthiness but on God’s command. It is love demonstrated by what you do for your husband (Taking care of him, the way you speak to him, the way you speak about him, the things you do for him).
Your husband should be your best friend and someone you enjoy being with. You need to spoil him, think of him all or most of the time, pray for him, encourage him and welcome him. This will mature a deep friendship with him. Love also means unconditional acceptance despite the imperfections. Loving your husband involves commitment to meet his sexual needs (as he meets yours too) and learning to value this husband’s genuine God given physical need or else he feels rejected and this may affect his self-esteem.
Accept the lifestyle that comes with his work. Learn to be content with his schedule and avoid comparing it to other friend’s lives (small house, small salary, many relatives and responsibilities, travel, coming home late or early). Husbands are imperfect but they need their wives to love them anyway. That is your helper role.
The roles and responsibilities in marriage are not as clear-cut as one would want them to be and at times we are tempted to get into the other persons shoes and do things for them. Roles and responsibilities are often given so that there will be no confusion about who is supposed to be in charge at any particular moment or who deserves tribute or blame.
All in all, you are given guidance in your roles and responsibilities so that you can better your relationship with your spouse.

True Friendship - Recognition
How can we find true friendship in this often phony, temporary world? Friendship involves recognition or familiarity with another's personality. Friends often share likes and dislikes, interests, pursuits, and passion.

How can we recognize potential friendship? Signs include a mutual desire for companionship and perhaps a common bond of some kind. Beyond that, genuine friendship involves a shared sense of caring and concern, a desire to see one another grow and develop, and a hope for each other to succeed in all aspects of life. True friendship involves action: doing something for someone else while expecting nothing in return; sharing thoughts and feelings without fear of judgment or negative criticism.

True Friendship - Relationship, Trust, Accountability
True friendship involves relationship. Those mutual attributes we mentioned above become the foundation in which recognition transpires into relationship. Many people say, "Oh, he's a good friend of mine," yet they never take time to spend time with that "good friend." Friendship takes time: time to get to know each other, time to build shared memories, time to invest in each other's growth.

Trust is essential to true friendship. We all need someone with whom we can share our lives, thoughts, feelings, and frustrations. We need to be able to share our deepest secrets with someone, without worrying that those secrets will end up on the Internet the next day! Failing to be trustworthy with those intimate secrets can destroy a friendship in a hurry. Faithfulness and loyalty are key to true friendship. Without them, we often feel betrayed, left out, and lonely. In true friendship, there is no backbiting, no negative thoughts, no turning away.

True friendship requires certain accountability factors. Real friends encourage one another and forgive one another where there has been an offense. Genuine friendship supports during times of struggle. Friends are dependable. In true friendship, unconditional love develops. We love our friends no matter what and we always want the best for our friends.

• "A friend knows the song in my heart and sings it to me when my memory fails."
• "Soul-mates are people who bring out the best in you.  They are not perfect but are always perfect for you. "
• "If you're alone, I'll be your shadow.  If you want to cry, I'll be your shoulder.  If you want a hug, I'll be your pillow.  If you need to be happy, I'll be your smile.  But anytime you need a friend, I'll just be me."
• "Remember, we all stumble, every one of us.  That's why it's a comfort to go hand in hand. "
• "A good friend is a connection to life - a tie to the past, a road to the future, the key to sanity in a totally insane world."
• "When we honestly ask ourselves which person in our lives mean the most to us, we often find that it is those who, instead of giving advice, solutions, or cures, have chosen rather to share our pain and touch our wounds with a warm and tender hand.  The friend who can be silent with us in a moment of despair or confusion, who can stay with us in an hour of grief and bereavement, who can tolerate not knowing, not curing, not healing and face with us the reality of our powerlessness, that is a friend who cares."