I want to make a short post to those women out there who feel they cannot possibly do this. It's too hard. Maybe you stay at home and have a whole gaggle of children you homeschool. Maybe you have an unforgiving husband who doesn't tolerate muddy shoes by the front door. Maybe you are sitting in the middle of your living room floor crying and wishing your lot in life were to be in an air conditioned office somewhere moving one piece of paper after another into one pile or another. It certainly would be easier, wouldn't it? Other women do it. Other women say they are helping their husbands by providing income and they still manage to get dinner on the table.
Listen, I'm sure there are lots of women who work outside the home who are great wives and amazing people. I am against it simply because I believe women are called to be at home. It's a tough job and it's not for the faint of heart. It takes wisdom, dedication, self-discipline, and strength. To do it well you need brains, courage, and heart. I hate the saying The Woman's Place Is In the Home. It sounds demeaning. However, it is not a demeaning job. I've had great jobs. Jobs in which I had great authority and felt a super sense of accomplishment at the end of the day. Also at the end of the day I felt empty. What I was doing wasn't what I was meant for. I wasn't really making a difference in the grand scheme of things. My place is in the home. I'm not stepped on by my husband. He doesn't think my job is stupid or redundant. He actually is very proud even on the days I fail.
Get up, and calm your children. Task them with cleaning their rooms or send them outside on a mission to pick flowers. Make up a scavenger hunt list, or go bury a sack of pennies in the yard and give them a treasure map.
Get up and do the dishes. If nothing else gets done today, go do the dishes. After that, without thinking, make your bed. You're done. Nothing else needs done today. The floor can stay sticky and the buttery fingerprints on the sliding glass doors can sit. We all have tough days.
Get up and take a shower. The wonders of a long, hot shower are many. Spend an extra long time shaving your legs and washing your hair. Wash it twice. When you get out, blow it dry and pick out something cleanish and nice to wear. Pick something you feel good wearing.
Get up and take a walk away from the house. If you have young children take them with you. Get out of the house. Don't think about anything other than what your eyes are seeing. Look at that cute pumpkin array on your neighbor's porch. See how the trees are already changing their leaves? The dog barking a block away sounds very excited. Perhaps his owner is home and ready to take him for a well needed walk.
You don't need to get a job and send your kids to public school. You don't need to get a job and eat boxed mac and cheese like everyone else. You are beautiful. You are needed. You are loved. You are just having a bad day. You are just having a bad week. You are just having a bad month. It will end. It will not go on indefinitely. Failure is not a flaw. It is a human characteristic and inevitable. We can't do it all and do it every day. We cannot control the world. We cannot control our husbands. We cannot control our households. We can only plan. We can only prepare. We can only do what it is we are called to do. Be home. Be there. Have heart. Find strength.
Take a deep breath. Pray. Get up.
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