A Homemaker's Manifesto

I just picked up a basket off the floor in the living room. It's the same basket that I picked up off the floor in various other locations several times yesterday. My little one found it in a pile of things when I cleaned out our pantry and has claimed it as her own. When I sighed at the bend to pick it up, I realized the sigh was a happy one....truly happy.

At this season in my life, I have been given a gift. It is THE gift, in my opinion. I get to stay home with my daughter. This has been the deep dream of my heart since the day I laid eyes on her and for three and half years, it was an impossible dream. I have worked, in some capacity or another with her by my side this whole time. And now, although money still is not free flowing, I have the joy of fixing meals, giggling, teaching, cleaning, giggling, reading, cleaning and loving on my girl all day. It is THE most fulfilling role I've ever had. After moving 173 miles from "home" last Fall, we have settled into a great routine-I'm much more relaxed and she is MUCH more relaxed. Most days I wake up knowing that I am on a mission. A mission to be a godly, supportive PRAYING wife. A mission to teach and raise a free-spirited, Jesus-loving woman of God. A mission to clean, organize and serve in my home just as though God Himself inhabited it as His own. This is my calling and I love it....until I hear people say to me,

"I could get all of that done too if I didn't have a job."

"I have to get up early for my job. You're lucky. You get to sleep in. You don't have a job."

"I wish I could play all day like you do. I have to work a real job."

And then, I doubt my calling. Maybe I'm not contributing to society because I'm teaching my daughter her schoolwork and not in the workplace. Maybe I can't really spend money because I haven't earned it at a company. Maybe cleaning the toilet isn't really as important as the corporate jobs I've had in the past. Maybe I'm not as good as everybody else because I don't have a title and a check at the end of the week. I do doubt, if only for a second.

But, Truth reminds me otherwise. He says that what I'm doing is for HIM not other people (Colossians 3:23). He says that when other people see what's on the outside, He sees my heart. (1 Samuel 16:7) The fact is, I work VERY hard. I'm up before the rest of my family and the sun (most days) and work well past traditional "quitting time". I have a title-it's Mommy, thank you very much and it's the best title I've ever had. I don't get a monetary paycheck, but I am rich in the most adorable face and a priceless laugh that pays in huge dividends. Most of all, I am working literally for the biggest boss this world has every had. He sees the things that I do each day that no one does and applauds me for them. He's excited with me when I reinvent an unused space into something usable for our family. He celebrates when I find a $150 clock on clearance for $15 and then pay for it with a Christmas gift card. That's the kind of boss He is.

I live to serve my little family...my husband who serves us by sweating and doing hard labor each day and bringing home actual money to buy food; my little girl who has a destiny like a crown on her head from the Lord. This is my calling...my mission and I do it for my Boss's applause and that's the best paycheck I can hope for.