Over the years, the “picture” of what a homemaker is, or should be, has faded into one of drudgery, where a dull-minded, incapable woman fulfills her endless, boring duties of cleaning toilets, washing dishes, and vacuuming, reaping no rewards or satisfaction. She has a few children, which makes her job even harder, and the best she can hope for is the day they start school. This picture is being constantly promoted, devastating the sanctity of home and any desire to guard and keep it.

And if this is the true picture of being a keeper at home, who in their right mind would want to be one?! Not me!

But dear women, this is not the picture Scripture gives us of a virtuous woman (Proverbs 31)! And due to the lack of older women teaching us otherwise, we need to rise to the challenge of painting another picture–a true picture of the fulfillment that is ours when we understand our role.

The first thing we must understand is that part of our job DOES involve simple hard work. What worthy job doesn’t? But understanding how that work looks in “the Kingdom Realm”, will dramatically change the way we view it.

Washing dishes, cleaning toilets–all those not-so-glamorous things we must do, are filled with the blessed opportunity to SERVE…to daily exemplify our Savior with our hands and hearts! For what was His last act on earth, but the most humble of duties, washing the feet of His disciples, His “family on earth”?

Our understanding of what God has called us to, as Christians…“I beseech you, therefore brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy , acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service”...will radically change the way we view our work.

If we can grasp the heart of our mission here one earth–serving and loving others–then we will be thrilled with the realization that God has put us in a place so rich and full of opportunities to carry out this mission!

It will also help us understand the seriousness of neglecting our service to our families. We begin to see that cooking meals, sweeping the floor, and the thousands of other tasks are not optional if we desire to serve the Lord.

Because if He has called us to love others by serving, “washing feet”, and tending to practical needs,  which is only the beginning of our work, then to bypass our family in order to go out and serve someone else, is a grave offense. There are many noble things in the world to do; but if we do those things to the neglect of the basic service of our family, the nobility is lost.

Look next month for “Staying Home Part 2”!

Kelly Crawford from Generation Cedar