Monday, November 29, 2010

Lessons of a Housewife

At the start of what became my last year of teaching, I realized I wanted to be home. I didn't have any biblical theology regarding a woman's role within the home at that time. I had just had a wonderful summer caring for my home & I absolutely hated leaving once school came around. I was positively beside myself with desperation to stay home at one point & prayed feverishly many mornings that God would allow me to stay home the next year. Amazingly, he brought Michael into my life a few months later, & I began the next school year as a housewife. It's been simply wonderful & is the joy of my life to be able to care for Michael & our home.

Flashback to my single years. When I first moved out on my own & had to start paying bills, I got fed up with it pretty quickly. "I just paid these bills!", I would fuss to myself. In my naïveté (or, better yet, stupidity), I decided once that the gas/water/power companies had already gotten my money recently, & I was going to wait to pay them. Uh-huh. I did that. Classic cut-your-nose-off-to-spite-your-face syndrome. Needless to say, it backfired. And the thing about it was that it wasn't just the immediate spanking that I got. It took a while to crawl out of that. It was a painful lesson to learn. Now that I'm older & wiser, as soon as we get paid, I pay the bills. I don't get attached to the money in the bank account, because I realize that it belongs to others who have rendered services to us. We have obligations & responsibilities to fulfill. And we like running water, lights, & heat.

Even though being a housewife is my dream job, I have been overcome with that same "didn't I just do this?!" feeling many-a times. Didn't I just unload that dishwasher? Didn't I just vacuum? Didn't I just cook supper? Because the answer is "yes", I have gotten into a rut more than once of letting things slide. "I just did that, I'm going to wait a while before I do it again", goes my thinking. And then, I get slammed. The kitchen gets out of control, there's pet hair all over the floor, & the laundry pile reaches halfway to the ceiling in no time at all. Then, it takes hours - or even days - to climb out of that pit & set it all right.

So, here's the lesson I think I've finally learned (& am putting into practice with much success so far): Do it every day. Yes, I did just take care of everything already, but if it's not done every day, it becomes a monster that takes a lot longer to slay. Maintenance is the key. And - oh! - the burden that's lifted when our home is pleasantly clean & fresh! It feels so good to know that I'm caring for Michael in this way & honoring God in the call he's placed on my life to be a keeper of the home that He's entrusted to me!

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

Excellent post! And so encouraging to me, too. It is so hard to turn around from just completing one of my jobs around the house and find it needs doing again. For me, it's cleaning the shower. The weeks between shower scrubbings go by so quickly.

The Boyds said...

I know what you mean! I've had a couple of nights in a row where I've just been exhausted, & the kitchen has gotten out of control again! UGH! Today's the day, though! Thanks for the encouragement. It means a lot!