A Tribute to Homemakers

“What do you do all day?”

“I’d be bored stiff if I stayed home all day.”

“Must be nice to be able to watch TV all the time.”

It is 2013. We are well into the 21st Century. The idea of a woman wanting to be a homemaker seems, to many, like something from a bygone era. A woman who stays at home, either as a wife or as a mom, is sometimes treated like a sort of living museum exhibit.

Now, before going on, let me say that it is not sinful for a woman to work outside the home. So long as her primary focus is on glorifying God and her mind is on being a keeper of the home (Titus 2:5), then working outside the home is perfectly fine. My life has been, and continues to be, blessed by faithful Christian ladies who work outside the home.

But you homemakers…you work!

And I’m here today to give you a tribute. You deserve far more than I can articulate, but please know that this small effort comes from the heart.

Somehow, you are able to turn a structure of wood, carpet, and sheetrock into more than a house. You really do make it home. It becomes a safe haven. It is the place of serenity, because of you.

Because you stay home, you are the one who is called to run that elderly lady to the doctor’s office. You babysit kids because, after all, “You aren’t doing anything else.” You run a meal up to that sweet widower’s house just to help him smile today.

In one day, you are a maid service, nurse, judge (and jury!), cook, banker, and lawn service. And that is every day. Your sports car is a minivan with 120,000 hard-earned miles on it. You often think about how many of those miles were put on that van just between your house and Wal-Mart, and realize you could have driven to Tahiti and back.

Which is a trip you deserve, but will probably never take.

Pharmacist, plumber, and painter…you take care of all of those before lunchtime, and still can whip up the greatest PB&J the block has ever seen.

You hear the conversations about promotions at work and advanced degrees, and you are so proud of your friends. They are accomplishing great things, and advancing up the corporate ladder in a world that equates such with true success. Meanwhile, you are painting a multi-colored birdhouse with finger paints (with not so much as a hair out of place), and are making an eternal difference. Those 20 minutes spent finding Waldo, coupled with yet another trip to the dentist? Your 4-year-old may never remember them specifically, but he’ll never forget that mom was always there.

When dad comes home, he is greeted by a woman who is tired, but who wants to hear about his day of “exhausting” meetings…while you were cleaning who-knows-what from underneath an ancient refrigerator. You sure would like to get a new fridge, but you just don’t have the money. What you do have are popcicles that you and the kids found time to make so daddy could enjoy one with the kids after work.

You are a teacher, and the lessons you are teaching can never be replaced or equaled. You are showing not only hard work, but Christian humility. You are not only planting seeds in the little garden plot out back, you are nurturing seeds of Christian maturity in your children. You may do far more window shopping than real shopping, but the payoff for what you do will only be known when our Savior returns.

Today, I thank you and praise you. And, to my favorite homemaker, happy 14th anniversary. I love you.

COMMENTS: In the comments, please leave a tribute to a homemaker you appreciate.

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Photo credit: makelessnoise on Creative Commons

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