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!