A Little Backstory
I did not always want to be a homemaker. In my early twenties I was pretty set on climbing the corporate ladder and traveling the world in my spare time. The extent of my cooking was tacos or a simple crockpot meal. We ate out constantly (sometimes due to the fact that whatever I had made for dinner was not edible!). I was not sure if I wanted kids and the term submissive wife was certainly not in my vocabulary. We hardly went to church and the views of the world were steadily creeping into my own beliefs.
I struggled with terrible anxiety, I was eating poorly, and I was spending hardly any time with Jesus. I am honestly not sure when the Holy Spirit really started tugging at my heart (like I said, I wasn’t paying that much attention at that point). But somewhere along the way He broke through to me. And after much back and forth with my husband, I quite my job in June of 2021.
In the months that followed God started showing me how my life was going to change. He started showing me what it was like to have an intimate quiet time with Him before my kids got up. He started showing me how much stronger my marriage is if I let my husband lead. He started showing me that my maternal instincts are a gift from Him, and I need to follow them instead of the 20 different parenting books I had read.
It has been almost two years since I quit my job, and I feel like a completely different person. I can cook my family a delicious meal every night without any hesitation. I make my own bread and have kept my starter alive for a year (crazy!!). I have a garden that I love to take care of. But more importantly, my husband leads us in prayer every night and I turn to him for guidance on important decisions, and even little decisions. I get to be fully invested in my children’s lives and actually feel like I am raising them, not daycare. I am on fire for God for the first time since high school. And though anxiety has not completely disappeared from my life, it does not have a hold on me for I know my strength comes from the Lord.
My Prayer for You
As a homemaker, it can be easy to feel like your work goes unnoticed and unappreciated. You may feel like you are simply going through the motions of cooking, cleaning, and caring for your loved ones without any real purpose or significance. However, as followers of Christ, you must know that your work is not in vain.
Remember the women in Proverbs 31? She was a wife and mother who was devoted to caring for her household. She woke up early to provide food for her family, she was skilled in sewing and cooking, and she was known for her wisdom and kindness. But what stood out most about this woman was her fear of the Lord. She recognized that her work was not just about providing for her family, but about serving and honoring God.
As a homemaker, you have the opportunity to create a warm and welcoming environment for your family. You can use your skills and creativity to provide nourishing meals for your family. You can teach your children important life skills and values. You can unload some of the workload from your husband. And most importantly, you can pray for your family and seek God’s guidance in all that you do.
So let us embrace our roles as homemakers with joy and gratitude. Let us remember that our work is important and valued by God. And let us strive to honor Him in all that we do, knowing that our efforts will bear fruit for His glory.
