Training Our Daughters
Of course much of the world would agree that being a housekeeper is acceptable as long as you are not caring for your own home; treating men with attentive devotion would also be right as long as the man is the boss in the office and not your husband; caring for children would even be deemed heroic service for which presidential awards could be given as long as the children are someone else’s and not your own.
Dorothy Patterson
Housekeeping, helping a man, caring for children- I don’t want to teach my girls that these are necessary evils or merely acceptable, yet optional tasks in the life of a woman. I desire to instill a passion for home keeping, a longing to be a man’s completer one day, and a joyful anticipation of raising up the next generation for God’s glory. In other words, I want to give them vision for their future. –And that starts with me.
It’s sobering, exciting, and scary at the same time to know how much influence I have over the attitudes of my children. If they don’t see a wife and mother who is content and joyful in her role, who tells them often what a wonderful job God has given her, they will lack excitement also.
However, I’m not always content. And why not, if I believe I have the most wonderful, challenging, world-changing job a woman can possibly have? Certainly my sin nature has much to do with it, and lazily wanting to serve myself instead of others. However, I’ve come to the realization that there is also another problem. I believe Satan has deceived women into believing that a woman’s role in the home is not enjoyable. Have you ever thought of that? Maybe making your home a haven for those you love really is supposed to be fun! How often have I moaned and whined about the dishes and the laundry and preparing food constantly, when God gave me those things to enjoy! Not only do I make myself miserable, but I train my daughters to loathe those things as well.
When God first began to convict me of my sinful attitude, I began the process of renewing my mind when it came to my work. It sure felt strange, well, almost idiotic, to say things like,
“It’s time to wash the dishes, girls! Doing the dishes can be really fun!” or
“I love being able to serve your daddy by folding his socks!” or perhaps the most ironic of all,
“One of the most wonderful things about home keeping is there is always something else you can do next!”
Yes, at first I worried that I might actually be lying, but a funny thing started happening over time. I started meaning it. Oh, not all the time, but quite often. What a concept, Maybe God wants us to enjoy the work he created us for! And the great thing about little ones is they think doing “grown-up” work is so fun. With the Lord’s help, maybe I won’t ruin that by my own whining.
Well, the day’s chores aren’t finished yet, so I better see to them. And you know what? Tomorrow I can get up and do them all over again. Isn’t that great!
