Homemaking before the 20th century was a necessity. Today’s modern homemaking is just that… modern. We modern wives have never lived in such a way before. With all of our household appliances, microwaves and time saving gadgets, we homemakers are a new breed, at least in the last 100 years or so.
Think of our pioneering great-great grandmothers. We really don’t have to go back too far to see how industrialization has affected homemaking and I don’t believe all of it has been positive.
When handy, home appliances came into average homes here in America, out went the countless hours a wife needed to dedicate to her home.
Just a little over a century ago the average housewife:
- Cooked each meal from scratch
- Used a wringer washer for her family’s laundry
- Dried clothes on the line
- Beat the dirt out of her rugs outside by hand
- Washed dishes with water heated from the wood cook stove
- Bathed in a tub with cook stove heated water
- Walked or rode in a horse drawn buggy to town, church and the homes of family and friends
- Butchered her own chickens
If we ponder an average day for the 19th century homemaker, we can see that just eating and cleaning up after her and her family was an all day job. Before the notion of “Homemaking is boring,” (a direct effect of feminism)… a homemaker had so much to do at home, she didn’t have the luxury of being bored. She also didn’t have our modern mindset of home duties being mundane. Yesterday’s homemakers took pride in a clean, well-kept home.
When you say “homemaking is ‘onerous drudgery’” and add our modern home appliances that make housework a snap, you have the ingredients for boredom, idleness, restlessness and wives (along with older daughters), who look for fulfillment outside their homes. If we lived today similar to how women have for thousands of years, we simply wouldn’t be able to entertain the idea of leaving our homes via the phone, internet, TV or car.
Becoming bored and overwhelmed in our homes would be less of a temptation if we felt we were needed there. We may have devices that make our lives easier and save oodles of time, but let us remember the truth of homemaking; it is God-ordained. The LORD gave the job of homemaker to the woman.
“And Abraham hastened into the tent unto Sarah, and said, ‘Make ready quickly three measures of fine meal, knead it, and make cakes upon the hearth’…And they said unto him, ‘Where is Sarah thy wife?’ And he said, ‘Behold, in the tent.”” Genesis 18:6, 9
I am very fond of this verse, it shows a woman’s place. She is there in the home, ready to serve her husband and those who come into her home. It is truth that sets us free, not choice.
No matter what deceptive messages we are bombarded with today in regard to women’s roles, or how streamlined housework has become, we must remember we are needed at home.
The next generation of wives and mothers must be saturated with Biblical truth and wisdom. You’ve got a grand job, Moms… weary not in well doing!
For a treat, our online store; Family Vision Films, is offering this exceptional DVD today through Friday for just $13.95. This film is an excellent resource for Christian families. (Parental discretion is advised however, the messages in this film are intended for mature audiences.) That being said, my daughters saw it after I had previewed it, as we all need to be educated on this topic so we can discern truth from lies.
Just enter code: homemaker to get the discount. You can order HERE.
