from Homemaking is Not a Holding Pattern
by Carolyn Mahaney
Throughout my career as a homemaker I’ve been tempted to look past the
duties of the day to the more “important,” “significant,” or “exciting” work
of tomorrow.
“When the baby sleeps through the night, then I can begin to…”
“When the children are a little older I’ll have more time to….”
“When this sports season is over than I can turn my attention to….”
“If they ever graduate from high school, then I can finally….”
But there are no holding patterns in God’s kingdom. As homemakers, we
are not simply circling the skies of life, waiting for God from His control
tower to call us to real kingdom work. No, we’re doing that important work
today. As Dorothy Patterson observes: “preparation and care of the family
shelter are important enough for God himself to assign that responsibility”
(e.g. Titus 2:3-5, Pr. 31).
If God himself has assigned me the task of caring for my home, then I don’t
want to half-heartedly perform the duties of today, reserving my best
efforts for “tomorrow.” Rather, I want to follow the advice of missionary
Jim Elliot: “Wherever you are, be all there. Live to the hilt every situation
that you believe to be the will of God.” I want to unpack boxes and scrub
my new bathtub and run errands for the new home and take my son to the
soccer scrimmage for the glory of the One who saved me and who, by His
grace, called me to this wonderful work.
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