Keepers at Home - A Sacred Responsibility?

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I knew that God had called young women to be “Keepers at Home” (Titus 2:5), but someone recently pointed out to me that raising my son at home is a “sacred responsibility.”  God has given me a sacred responsibility!  Am I living up to it?  Am I doing what God requires of me?  Am I wasting money?  Wasting the hours of my life?  Wasting the hours of my son’s life?  Am I content?  Fearful?

In the past I have been very unhappy with our home.  It just wasn’t what I had in mind.  Slowly, through prayer and hard work, I have accepted the house and have been making it more ours.  There were so many little detail things I could have done to make it nicer, and I am finally accomplishing them.  My heart is now fixed on my home.

I have always wanted to “keep house,” but not moving into an empty or clean home when we married really put me off balance.  I felt I was failing miserably, first because I worked and didn’t have the time, and then when I came home the baby took all my time.  After much elbow grease and decluttering, the house is finally coming together, and now I am really reveling in being at home.

When I get fearful, looking ahead to bills that will need to be paid, I wonder how in the world we will ever make ends meet.  But then I remind myself that I have been saying this for more than five years now, and something always comes our way…refunds, unexpected gifts, or just skimping and saving on necessities.  (This week I learned that I can save on electrical rates by having my washing/drying and dishwashing finished before noon!)

But most important of all, when I get fearful and wonder if I will be compelled back into the workforce, I remember that it was God Himself who called me to stay home and take care of my son, my husband, myself, and our home.  He is the one who said I am to be a “Keeper at Home.”  I have not called myself home.  HE wants me home, and it isn’t a suggestion either, it is His will! 

I’ve given up trying to buy happiness, after realizing that most of my purchases became clutter and didn’t live up to their happy-factor. 

I’ve realized that matching china dishes on holidays do not matter…but using our prettiest glasses every day, and treating my family like company, does. 

I’m giving away more, and trying to get less. 

I don’t go shopping looking for what I might be missing, or for pretty items to camouflage a dirty house. Instead, I’m deep cleaning and purging “what if” items. 

I’m also no longer reading to find the perfect answer to my problems (I found it! It was a book called “Fascinating Womanhood”!); now I just read for pleasure and to better myself, after my work is done.

Housework is just the daily duties that must be done to have life run smoothly.  Some days are going to require deep cleaning, and some are just going to require basic chores.  Some days all the work will get done, on other days it will be a little bit messy. 

When I have laundry to do it is done with a good attitude, not with a scowl.  Instead of lamenting that my washer and dryer are in the garage, I notice that I can hear the birds, watch a few butterflies, and see the clouds through the trees on my way to the garage.  I can even fold some laundry outdoors while my son plays.  It is very peaceful. 

And most of all, I am being a Keeper at Home, the one who watches, guards and maintains our home…the vital center of our life…the abiding place of our domestic affections.  I want our home to be a sanctuary of love, peace, and order.