Being a Homemaker is something I learned about and embodied later in life. Learning from other seasoned Homemakers and letting the Lord lead me, changed the way I run our home. It changed how I treat my children and it changed how I carried myself throughout my day. Our overall wellbeing as well as our external environment can impact our daily lives and identify where we can turn, what may feel like a chaotic home, into a peaceful haven. Whether you are single, married, have children or don’t, Homemaking is for EVERYONE!
We all live somewhere, and making our homes a space that we love and enjoy starts with us. It starts with our spirit.
“Bring love into your home, for this is where our love for each other must start.”
What is a Homemaker anyways?
Well, the Webster definition is:
Homemaker (noun): one who manages a household especially as a spouse and parent.
Well, to me that sounds like every single person that’s ever lived in a dwelling place. So now that we established that you are, by definition, a Homemaker, let’s dive into what the Spirit of a Homemaker is, and why your spirit is an essential part of being a joyful and successful Homemaker!
We have two homes, our dwelling place and our own physical bodies. We are electrical and spiritual beings constantly interacting and responding to the environment around us and within us. The things we surround ourselves with externally, directly influence and impact our internal state. Likewise, our overall wellness and sense of wellbeing, directly affect our external outputs into the world. Each dwelling place, external and internal, can be filled or depleted by our daily choices and habits.
Traditionally, a woman fulfills the role of a Homemaker. Women have a unique ability to command the energy of the entire room. Women have a great gift for shifting the energy in a room almost instantly. I know from my own experience that I have the power to lift the spirits of my children and husband with a simple gentle smile or nurturing touch.
Our own attitudes and our own spirit, then becomes the spirit of the home.
If we are tired, cranky, or stressed this also affects everyone around us. Our own well being affects what we can get done and it also affects our inner peace. When we get wrapped up in self-wallowing or even caught up in daily household chores, it can take away the joy of being a Homemaker. Having a perfectly clean house and a three home-cooked meals a day does not make a successful Homemaker. You could cook the best homemade meals in the world and still be completely disconnected from your family or yourself. Or instead, you could have piles of laundry unfinished and spend your days laughing with your children and being at peace in your own home.
So how do we attain this constant state of peace and tranquility in our homes? Well, the answer is twofold, we look internally at ourselves and externally at our environment to answer this question. Ask yourself, what is my internal state right now? What anxieties do I have about my day? Then offer them up to God. Ask Him to grant you the grace of peace and to help you during the tasks at hand. Spend some time in prayer before you start your day. This dedicated time will put you in a different headspace to start your day. Making intentional time to spend with the Lord, has been a complete game changer for me to better serve the ones I love.
Then, look at your external circumstances. Think about what would make you feel the best if it got done that day? What makes your husband feel the best if completed? Is it the laundry and the dishes versus cooking 3 meals from scratch? If you have frozen pizza that night, then you have provided what you need to provide for your family and will be at peace with what you have accomplished.
You make your home lovely, by being loving. You make your home peaceful, by being at peace.
Ask the Holy Spirit to help you and to guide you in your daily challenges and tasks. Set the tone of your day by waking up each morning praising the Lord for allowing you to serve your family for another day. Ask God to make your decisions better than yesterday. Give thanks to God that you get to provide a safe haven for your family to come home to every day. Give praises to Jesus that you get to nourish your family and fill their bellies. Thank the Lord that you have a home where your children can safely lay their heads. God choose each and every one of use to serve our families, to mother our children and to be our husbands helper. You have been called to be the keeper of your home and to embody The Spirit of a Homemaker.
“If obedience sends you to the kitchen, remember that the Lord walks among the pots and pans and that He will keep you in inward tasks and in outward ones, too.”
Homemaking is a Mindset
For many years, I felt obligated to do household tasks and never found joy in doing the mundane daily chores. Though I felt very grateful for the things I had, spending hours and hours washing dishes and folding laundry quickly became something I despised and sometimes would avoid altogether. It wasn’t until I welcomed God back into my life that I started to see my home from a different perspective. Our houses are not intended to be perfectly curated with farmhouse aesthetics. Our home should be a place where we nurture the sick, feed the hungry, and a place to minister to our families. For the Christian, a home should be an extension of the Gospel, your own domestic church. This may look like toys on the floor, played with by happy children. It may look like dirty dishes in the sink and food on counters, made by the hands of someone who cares about their family’s health and wellbeing.
Stop, and take several moments a day to thank God for all that he has blessed you with. Then ask Him to help you to be a good steward of it all. Your gratefulness makes the burden of chores a thousand times lighter. Sometimes we get wrapped up in the to-do list and loose sight of what we are here to do. To serve the Lord in everything we do, including the dishes, including the laundry, including the cooking. It’s very easy to slip into a Martha mindset instead of a Mary mindset.
We aim to have homes that we think are beautiful, and they are also to be homes that are well lived in. Don’t let your perfectionism stop you from opening your home for hospitality or take time away from quality family time and connection. Enjoy your home, put it to work, and use it as a tool to serve the Lord and your family.
“The secret of happiness is to live moment by moment and to thank God for all that He, in his goodness, send to us day after day.”
