I am so blessed to be able to say that my mother was my first mentor, and her influence is ongoing in my life. She has consistently modeled the fruits of the Spirit for me. Her love made our home a wonderful place to grow up. I always felt safe and accepted unconditionally. She was and is one of my biggest cheerleaders, and I'm filled with thankfulness for her ongoing encouragement.
Titus 2:3-5 gives an extensive list of the things that older women are to model for younger women. In that list it says that younger women need to be taught to be busy at home. My mom is the enduring example of this in my life. She is an excellent housekeeper, decorator and cook. Even though I probably almost drove my tidy mom crazy in my teenage years by leaving dirty clothes all over my floor and bras draped over furniture, she persevered in setting a high standard and teaching me. Some lessons didn't take--I'm a lousy cook--but she certainly did her part!
When I lived at home, it irked me to no end to be asked to straighten up, but I knew that her lessons had taken hold once I left for college. My roomate was terrific, but I loved the weekends that she went home to be with her boyfriend. On Friday, I'd clean like a wild woman and then bask all weekend in a spotless room. Looney, but true...
In my household today, I've had to relax my standards a little. Living in an active family means that there's less time for cleaning, but I still love to have the house picked up even if there's dust on all the furniture. I'm also learning to enjoy the fruits of cooking family meals even though I don't love all the work before.
I treasure the lessons learned in my mom's home. She taught me that a well-run household is a gift that brings peace in a family. Our homes can be a harbor for our husband at the end of a hard day and our children who come home exhausted from a big day at school. It's not so fun while we're in the midst of the hard work of maintaining our homes. However, this is the fruit of being busy at home---that it's a place that we all love to be and where we all feel loved.
What are you learning about keeping your home? (I bought my first zester last week!)
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Parent Power
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Posts
3 comments:
I'm learning that the joy is in serving my family when keeping my home.
I never liked housework, and really never learned how to do it well until the last five years....something about having the house on/off the market taught me some lessons :-)
When I just don't want to do something, I tell myself that I'm doing it for one of my children, or doing it for my husband, and that I'm utimately doing it "as unto the Lord."
Thank you SO much for your sweet comment on my blog :)
What am I learning about keeping a home? We just bought our first house this summer and I'm learning A LOT.
Whew....it is harder to tidy up a house than it is an apartment. And now that our son is 2 years old - our home can turn into a disaster zone in seconds - with trains, tractors, books, and balls all over the place :)
But what a blessing it is to have the opportunity to pick up after an energetic little boy and a hard-working husband! When I'm doing those dishes and loading up laundry - I have to remember that! :)
Im gonna go read Titus 2 now :)
I'd like to say that I bought my first zester about 2 years ago...but I'm still scared of using it!! Maybe that can be my goal for 2010!
I am also thankful for Amy's mom as she is my mother through marriage to Amy's brother. I have been blessed with a mother-in-law that I have no mean stories to tell about!! She is encouraging, a great example of a homemaker, and a blessing to our family. Thanks, Mom!
I have found that keeping my home brings much contentment. I know this is one of the charges the Lord has called me to (Titus 2) so it is very freeing to me to know this is an area in which I am serving the Lord as I work. I agree with Sylvia who said it is helpful to think about doing this work "as unto the Lord". It helps me set my standards; I'm not working "as unto Martha Stewart" so those standards need not be mine! (which is a good thing....)
Post a Comment