As I wrote last month, I have become a different (and better) person since I became a mom. As driven and Type-A as I am, my dreams have always centered around mommy-hood and a house full of rambunctious kids. The stage of life I find myself in now requires that I work outside of our home, and GFC has been a great avenue for that need. I thoroughly enjoy my job as coordinator of the Gaby Fellowship, and its a great outlet for non-toddler socialization as well!
As much as I love my job, though, my first role is always that of wife and mom, and ultimately it is the one that matters most. Earlier this month I was happy to read that Patrice Lewis, writing at World Net Daily, agrees.
In Lewis’ piece (entitled Why Housewives Will Save the World), she proclaims that she is nothing more than an opinionated north Idaho housewife and that she is proud to be exactly that. While the term housewife is often considered to be degrading, Lewis reclaims the mantle with zeal for all it entails–thriftiness, encouragement, and hard, creative work for starters. In fact, she goes so far as to proclaim that the housewives of America will save this nation.
There has been a revival of late, perhaps brought on by the economic hardships faced by many of America’s families, of self-proclaimed housewives who desire to share their tips on budgeting, cooking, cleaning and more. The impulse is a good one, and its easy to see the value of a new generation of wives and moms choosing to be more intentional at home.
While many of us moms work outside of our homes, either part- or full-time, we can find encouragement in Lewis’ proclamation. The work we are doing in our homes, though it tends to be more thankless and produces fewer immediate rewards, is the very stuff that keeps a society moving. A mother sets the tone for a home and lays the foundation of love and trust that keeps a family together when circumstances seem impossible. And, as Lewis points out, “the foundation of a nation is a solid family unit.”
G.K. Chesterton wrote a wonderful essay on this topic entitled The Emancipation of Domesticity. While I wish I could quote it all, I will leave you with this snippet to whet your appetite:
How can it be a large career to tell other people’s children about the Rule of Three, and a small career to tell one’s own children about the universe? How can it be broad to be the same thing to everyone, and narrow to be everything to someone? No; a woman’s function is laborious, but because it is gigantic, not because it is minute. I will pity Mrs. Jones for the hugeness of her task; I will never pity her for its smallness.
If I want to take on the world, to have a job that truly defines me and allows me to have an impact that will last well beyond my time on Earth, it looks as though I’ve chosen the right line of work.
Great thoughts, April! The investment we make in our kids is eternal, and it will absolutely be worth all the hard work. Thanks for the reminder.