I can remember early on in our marriage we were ridiculously broke. Homemaking wasn’t something I really thought about as a young wife. I can remember quarreling in those early days, about different household chores. Most specifically the dishes, we were living in an ancient farmhouse rental, and it did not have a dishwasher. Every dish had to be washed by hand and I had always had a strong dislike for doing the dishes. We both had jobs, he had a full time job and I had two part time jobs. So I never viewed myself as a homemaker. I guess I had always thought that a homemaker was someone who was blessed to stay home and not have to have a job outside of the home. It was just a few short years ago that my perspective completely changed.
I sometimes feel like I am the only one that ever does the dishes and like I am the only one that ever notices that the trash needs to be taken out, and that no one else even knows where the laundry room is in this house. I can get really grumpy and bitter when I think about these things. Often it is because I am simply focusing on the bad and not the good. If I am honest with you and myself, I don’t always feel frustrated by these household tasks. In fact, most of the time I enjoy taking care of my family and fulfilling the homemaking tasks. I find that these things irritate me when I feel overwhelmed by all the tasks that I feel like are piling up.
Prayer and Focus on God
I changed the way I prayed and my heart and mind started to change with it. I started to pray that I would be the wife and mother that He would have me to be. I stopped wishing for less to do and started praying for the strength and energy to do all the things God would have me to do. When I changed the focus off, of feeling sorry for myself, and onto God and the blessings he has placed in my life, my perspective changed. I am not going to tell you that I don’t have times where I feel overwhelmed and feel sorry for myself, but the difference is I don’t stay there. I don’t let those feelings come in and take charge.
I can remember reading about a Proverb’s 31 woman and thinking there is no way I can measure up to that. I bought a life application study Bible from Christianbook.com Home
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How we can apply this scripture
I love it and find it so helpful! In the notes for this section Proverbs 31: 10-31, it has a large amount of information. But two points stuck out to me. The first being that the Proverbs 31 woman’s strength and dignity are not a result of her own amazing achievements, are because of her reverence for God. The second is that we probably shouldn’t look at her as someone we try to imitate her every detail, but instead that we should use her as an inspiration to be all that we can be.
There are multiple character traits we could find within that passage of scripture, but for me one thing that is prominent throughout that passage and relevant to the topic of homemaking. Is that the Proverbs 31 woman is definitely not lazy. She isn’t just doing things for the sake of doing them either. She is hard working and intentional with her time. I like how it is worded in verse 27, “She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Proverbs 31:27 KJV”
I hope you have found encouragement in this today. I know the list of things to that need done seems never ending and there aren’t enough hours in the day to do all of the things. It’s important that you know that, just as it’s important that you don’t stop showing up and you focus on God and the good.
