A Keeper Of The Home

Time for another old guest post of mine!  I wrote this one over 2 years ago as a guest post for Sarah Mae at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee.  I've made no secret here of my struggles with housework and this post tells a little of my story.  I still struggle, but know that the Lord is my strength and all things are possible through Him!

I want to make sure that you understand that we are in no way called to be *perfect* homemakers and will never be able to do it "all."  When I say that we are called to do it ALL (in my post) - I mean that we are called to do the good, the bad, and the ugly - not just the fun or easy parts of keeping a home.  As a sinner I often find myself resting too comfortably in the fact that we will never succeed in doing it "all", saying that the Lord won't mind me letting the laundry pile up while I put my feet up and read a blog or two...ahem.  Sometimes we do need rest!  And sometimes the Lord does want the laundry to pile a little while we attend to ministering to our husband or children in other ways!  But sometimes we need the Lord to work in our hearts and remind us of our priorities.

I would love to hear about your struggles with being a Keeper of the Home!

Originally published at Like a Warm Cup of Coffee on August 14, 2008:

In her 31 Days To Clean posts, Sarah Mae has talked about self-discipline and why we need to keep working at the daily drudgery. I agree with her and wanted to share some of my thoughts on the subject.

Being a good keeper of the home is a big struggle with me, so I’m really talking to myself here! Before I was pregnant with my son, I was Miss Career Woman and a terrible Keeper of the Home. God started helping me to realize that I needed to make a shift at that time. Eventually, I found myself an inexperienced Stay At Home Mom.

Domesticity did not come naturally to me. I did the bare, and I mean bare minimum of cleaning and I let my husband do the cooking. I was doing good at taking care of my baby boy, at least! At some point, I realized that Keeper of the Home was a most important job and I hadn’t been treating it that way. If I was working for “pay” outside the home, I did a great job and took pride in my work. Why wouldn’t I do the same for my more important job? That way of thinking about it helped me – I created some routines, did a little better with cleaning, and took over all the cooking duties.

Later on, it all became a struggle again and it still is. I understand the concept of taking pride in my home and keeping up with things because it’s the job that I was called to do. But that isn’t enough. I realize that there is more to it. This is what God has called me to do. It’s not an employer who gives me a job description and will give me money and recognition for a job well done. It’s God. If God somehow spoke to me and told me my job description for Keeper of the Home – would I say, “You know, I’m kind of tired. Maybe I could do the dishes just when they pile up and start the dusting next month?” I think not.

Maybe knowing that God calls us to do ALL of it, not just the parts that we like, can help us with our perspective and motivation. And there is a reward – a heavenly home with our Savior. There is even recognition. It will come when we hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”

I’m not saying that we won’t struggle. We’re sinners after all. But maybe we can do a little better and ask God to help us grow as home makers and keepers. I pray that the Lord blesses your home keeping endeavors this week.