My first three and a half months as a stay at home mom have
been incredibly thorny. I’ve recently been
challenged to accept that I can bring value in this role and to create a Godly
and reasonable vision of what that looks like.
At the beginning of this journey, my ideas where quite unrealistic and
based off untruths (like mom’s who don’t work outside of the home should
scrub their kitchen tiles with a toothbrush)—prejudiced ideas founded from the
outside looking in. I quickly failed and
sent myself into a spiral of disappointment that landed me straight on the
couch in tears—almost daily. Responding
to my challenge, I have spent a lot of quiet time this week trying to create a
philosophy for myself as a stay at home mom that included a clear vision with
reasonable goals.
I set out to establish those expectations and goals and God
stopped me to remind me not to get too far ahead of myself—He simply reminded me of my purpose. He revealed to me that my purpose
is really the same now as it was when I worked outside of the home; it hasn’t
changed. Serve Him first, serve my
family, and then serve my church and community.
Serving God first means that I am to spend time with him in prayer and in
His word every day. I am to be diligent
in keeping Satan out of my home (media is a huge opportunity for Satan to enter
into our homes—a later blog). Ultimately
every choice I make throughout my day should be made in an effort to bring Him
Glory. By seeking God first, He will
give me all the tools I need to serve others.
(Mat 6:33) Serving my family
means that I am to be aware of and selflessly fulfill their unique needs; on a
spiritual, physical, and emotional level.
This can get really deep so I’m trying to keep it on the surface and go
deeper at a later time as I mature in my new role (BABY STEPS). All of their needs are different and manifest
themselves distinctively. For now, I
need to remember to exemplify a Godly wife and mother to them and do my best to
meet their individual emotional needs while I feed them! Lastly, God commands
Christians to serve the church and reach out to those that don't know Him. Serving the church comes in so many forms of
ministry: cooking, cleaning, teaching, etc.
Right now Paul and I have the honor of leading our Jr. High students and
what a blast it is! But I should remember not to grow weary or complacent in my service and to faithfully
share the good news with everyone I can—including the grocery store clerk.
So that’s my philosophy:
Love God and Others! It sounds so
simple—we humans always have to make things so complicated! Oh but now onto a vision with reasonable
goals—there I go making things complicated…
A vision—a vision that does not include unreasonable demands
on myself as a child of God or as a wife and mother, a vision that doesn’t include
scrubbing with toothbrushes or wearing high heels in the kitchen—but a vision that is Godly and serves my family well. After
all, the decision for me to stay at home was not so I could sit on the couch
and cry, it was to serve my family in a way that brings glory to God and fruitfulness
to them.
Serve God and he will add all the rest unto me. Hopefully sometime this week I will have the
opportunity to share with you how my vision is revealing itself. God is imparting this to me in small baby
bites! Although it is still hazy, I am excited that I finally have a glimpse of an intentional purpose.
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