First thing in the morning, she dresses for work, rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started. She senses the worth of her work, is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth, diligent in homemaking.
Shortly after Craig and I got married, I was a stay at home mom for a while. I worked here and there, and then I had a period of time when I babysat kids in our home. But it was a few years that I just stayed home and "took care of the house and the kids." I put that in quotes because...well...I wasn't really very good at the taking care of the house part back then. I remember so many times Craig would come home and he would say, "You're here ALL day. How is it that this didn't get done?" At the time, I had only the two children to take care of and they were in school for most of the day. I should have been able to get a lot of work accomplished in the house. Looking back, I know that I spent a lot of time online back then. I watched a lot of court TV. I talked on the phone a lot. Sometimes I did the dishes, laundry...but I wasn't diligent like I should have been. Craig was right to question me. Come to think of it...I'm not sure what I really did with ALL of that time.
Ladies, that's not what we're called to do. And actually, my actions were very sinful, though I would defend myself to you to no end. We are called to be the keepers of our homes. Now, I've been on the other side of the spectrum as well. I've been the working mom. I've been the mom who spends 8+ hours at a job that makes me want to tear my hair out. And when I was doing that job, the duties at home were adjusted accordingly. My husband works at a very physical job and sometimes the hours are very long. But when I was working outside of our home, he pitched in more because he had to. It just wasn't possible for me to do it all. He understood that. And I never heard him complain.
Now that I'm a stay at home mom again, he tells me all the time how much less pressure he feels. He knows that our son is being raised by me. He knows that when the older kids get home from school, I'll be here to greet them and make sure they are doing their homework. He knows that he can call me and I'll answer the phone. And, because of the insight I've had into what it takes to be a Proverbs 31 Wife, he knows that the house is being cared for in the right way.
Now, I'm no different than you. There are days that I get up and I think like my toddler. "Don't want to!" Some days I just don't feel like it. I don't want to look at my to-do list. Instead, I want to play on the floor with Caleb. I want to curl up on the couch and read the new book I just downloaded onto my Nook. I want to hang out on Facebook all day and get the low-down on what is going on in my friend's lives.
But I can't.
One of the most important things that I have learned as I'm studying this Scripture is that you just have to DO IT. And, more importantly, the sooner you DO IT, the sooner it is DONE. There are many days that I will post on Facebook that I got all of my to do list completed for the day before it's even 9am! I never would have thought that possible. And then, guess what? I can sit on the floor and play games with my son. I can read with my Nook for a little while. I can find time to write in my blog or work on my book. But when we put off doing the work our house needs, it just looms over us like a cloud. And the more we put it off, the easier it is to put it off. And then before you know it, the entire day has gone by and you haven't done anything to bless your family.
My family is worth it. I love them so much. I told my husband last night that marrying him was the second best decision I ever made. (The first being getting saved) Where are the actions behind those words? Words are nice. But if we don't have any actions to back them up, they are empty. My actions this morning were cleaning up the kitchen after breakfast, figuring out what we're having for dinner, and doing my Wednesday chore, which is cleaning our home office.
I used to be quite lazy. If God can reform me, trust me, He can reform you. He can take your day and mold it into an expression of love for your family. That's what it should be.
The process looks different for everyone. But I would like to share with you what works for me. If it doesn't work for you, tweak it until you find something that does work for you. Whatever you do, don't overwhelm yourself. And don't worry if you don't get all of the things on your to-do list done for that day. There are days when I give my kids a few of the items on the list to do. And there are days when I don't get all the way through it because I had to run an unexpected errand that day. But I know in my heart that each day, I've done my absolute best. And as long as I am obedient, that is all God requires of me.
THE KEY TO WHAT I AM ABOUT TO SHARE IS SIMPLE: JUST DO IT. GET STARTED AND GET FINISHED. SIMPLE, BUT VITAL.
Every day, I do the following: 1 load of laundry, sweep kitchen floor, unload and reload dishwasher.
Each day of the week is assigned a different room. Mondays are for the kitchen/dining area. Mostly because that is the area that usually needs the most attention after a busy weekend. Tuesday is the living room. Wednesday is the home office. It is also the day that I do my grocery list. Thursday is the bathroom and Friday is the master bedroom. The kids are responsible to keep their own rooms clean. I go through the mail when it comes and throw junk AWAY. I wrote out the specific chores that need to be done within each room on my to-do list. And I LOVE checking them off. I feel so accomplished when I get to do that. I use an app on my Nook and my phone to keep my lists. If you'd like to check it out, you can at www.cozio.com. It's been very helpful for me.
Like I said, maybe this won't work for you. But I knew that something would eventually work so that I could accomplish my goal of taking good care of my home. I just had to keep going so I could figure out what it was that would work for me.
I love the part of that Scripture that says, "She senses the worth of her work." Do you do that? Do you sense the worth of your work? Many times we don't. At the end of the day, we find ourselves exhausted as we collapse into bed. But just try this: Take a few minutes and really sense the worth of your work. Look at your husband in the evening when he comes home to a dinner that's ready for him. Look at your children as they are doing their homework. Look at the kitchen that you just cleaned and feel proud of your accomplishment. The fact is, if you don't take a minute to sense the worth of your work, it's hard to keep on doing it. Know that God is proud of you for doing your best. Know that you worked for your family out of love for them.
And JUST DO IT!
No comments:
Post a Comment