What's the first thing that pops into your head when you think "homemaking"? A 50s style housewife wearing a polka dot apron, perfectly applied red lipstick and heels? Or maybe you envision something more modern like a busy soccer mom juggling laundry, doctor appointments, school and activities. Or maybe you think of some fancy shmancy home magazine with its beautifully decorated holiday tablescapes, and pottery barn styled "living" rooms that really don't look like people ever do much living in them. I mean really, who has fifty candles all lit at the same time? Not that there's anything wrong with keeping a beautiful home! I myself love to try my hand at decorating and may or may not light one too many candles at the same time...
Anyway, what if I told you that the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of homemaking, is God? Homemaking is so much more than making sure your floors are clean, groceries are bought or clothes are washed. Homemaking is a ministry in itself! Now, to make this very clear, whether you work in or outside of the home, you are still a homemaker. Making a house a home is part of your God given gift as a woman.
Think of it this way, when we are being the lifeline of our homes, serving our children, friends and family, we're serving the way Jesus served. By serving others, we're serving God.
"Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men."
Colossians 3:23
See that word right there, "heartily". It literally means, with heart. The state of your heart matters when you're tending to every aspect of your home and life. Serving with anger, or resentment, just to say you've done it, is not what God wants from us. He doesn't have a checklist somewhere so He can put a gold star next to our names everytime we do something right! Serving is not something that should be done superficially for social media likes! It needs to be done sincerely and come from the very bottom of your heart! It needs to flow out of your soul with love and warmth towards those you are serving.
It's without a doubt that the world we're living in right now is very selfish. The idea of serving anybody but ourselves tends to leave a sour taste in people's mouths. It's "Me. Me. Me." all the time for the majority of society and frankly, that's incredibly sad. Imagine if people took a few steps backward, put down their pride and worldly ambitions and instead focused on their families, friends and homes. Really focused on them! Now, please I'm not saying this to shame anyone, nor do I mean to make women sound like all they're good for is cooking and cleaning. That's absolutely not my intention and couldn't be further from my point! What I'm saying here is that as women we've been granted great gifts! Men (for the most part) can not do the things we do. Biblically, the home is our workplace, and nothing about that should be taken offensively! It's literally one of the most important jobs out there! We've been selected to grow, birth and raise children! Been given the responsibility to make a mere dwelling, into a home! To me, those are incredible gifts! True blessings.
Something I say pretty often is, "Busy is better than bored." Basically paying homage to the age old saying "Idle hands are the devil's workshop". Some days I'm excruciatingly tired, my body will physically hurt and when I finally slip into bed I can literally feel every muscle relax. But you know what? My kids are cared for and happy, my husband knows he's appreciated, my home is comfortable and warm and to me, that's more than enough.
"If we don't teach our children to follow Christ, the world will teach them not to."
I would rather have my hands full, than my hands idle and empty.
Thanks for reading and as always, God bless.
Love the pictures of the kids❤️ And I love serving my family at home too 🙏 We are very blessed!
ReplyDeleteThat we are <3
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