After being away from home for over half of the month of October, my heart and feet have been very happy to be back in my residence! I am very much a home-body, loving everything about home life. I think I’ve learned to appreciate it even more after so much absence. As I have “dug my heels” into the necessary chores and responsibilities of running a home, I’ve thanked the Lord for His gift of home, and for the blessing of being a homemaker. When our girls were young, at one time, my husband worked three jobs so I could stay home and care for our family. What a sacrifice! For many years, I have said to my husband,
“I appreciate you working incredibly hard so that I could stay home.”
You might wonder why an older woman would still desire to stay home after the children are gone? It isn’t laziness that keeps me here, it’s the realization that there’s so much to do!
- My husband’s needs
- Our clothing/laundry
- Our food and meals
- Our house and yard
- The ministry of people, inviting them in, reaching out, caring and connecting.
- Church roles and ministries
Maybe you’re not a homebody like I am, but you find yourself in this role and in this place called home. How can you turn your heart towards loving this calling as a homemaker? Here are several suggestions for you:
- Pray and ask God to give you a heart for your home. He is the Creator of home, and He can certainly change the way you think about this responsibility.
- Look up verses on the home. Psalm 113:9 He maketh the barren woman to keep house, and to be a joyful mother of children. Praise ye the LORD. Proverbs 14:1 The wise woman builds her house, but with her own hands the foolish one tears hers down. Memorize and meditate on passages of Scripture like these. God’s Word changes our heart!
- Follow a few women on Instagram or their blog (like this one!) who inspire you in your role as homemaker. See how they spend their time. Look for things that you could incorporate into your home and routine that would make your work more interesting and more productive. I love Jesthepilgrim on Instagram. She shares her homemaking days and activities and the joy of doing so. I also love following Joyfilleddays on Instagram and also her blog.
If you are a woman who has to work, and wishes she could be home, this post is not to shame you, but to encourage you. I realize some women have NO CHOICE and HAVE to go to work. If you long to be home, I encourage you to make it a matter of prayer. I have shared in the past that when Whitney was four, I took a teaching position, because it seemed like it would help with our tight budget. I learned many good lessons that year, and one was to have a heart for women who had to work outside the home. Whew! That is a hard task!
The point of today’s post is to help those who are at home and wish they weren’t. Find joy in where you are. Find contentment on your knees as you pray about your role. God has you there for a reason.
You can also do practical things to help your homemaking life be more fulfilling and satisfactory. I’ll share more of that next Friday, so check back then!
In the meantime, tell me,
What is the most difficult thing about homemaking for you?
What is the greatest blessing of homemaking?
Let’s refresh our heart for home,
RefreshHer 
I am a home-body too:) I have been a “domestic engineer” for about 25 years of my nearly 30 year marriage. I am so grateful that I can stay at home and be busy. The most difficult thing about homemaking is at times I get in the rut of thinking “no one appreciates what I do”. God corrects me in those times with a timely compliment from my husband and a knowing from the Holy Spirit that YES! God appreciates what I do. The greatest blessing of homemaking is knowing that I am doing exactly what God has called me to do. Thanks for sharing from your heart. It encourages me so much!
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I guess we all want to be appreciated, don’t we? You are exactly right… We have to remember that God sees what we do. Years ago the Lord taught me this lesson from Psalm 62:5, that my expectation is from him. Otherwise, I get very disheartened. Happy homemaking!
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I have always been a home-body at heart too, but over the 47 years of our marriage, I have done it all – I was a full-time homemaker for 12 years, part-time work-outside-the-home for most of our married life, and full-time work-outside-the-home. Currently, I have a very busy and demanding full-time job and I still manage to do all the housekeeping, laundry, groceries, cooking, and related things (although my hubby helps me as he can) and some ministries at our church. It does require me to be extremely organized and disciplined. I had not intended to be working full-time outside the home at my age and it was quite an adjustment, but my husband is a former pastor and we have no retirement. And even though I love being at home, I know God gave me my job and I am doing exactly what He has called me to do for right now.
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I love your heart and your work ethic! I pray the Lord gives you strength and energy for the good work that He has called you to!
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Hi Denise, I am a homebody as well, and I see myself as a homemaker even though I do work outside the home. Im grateful that though I work, most of the hours are flexible and can be done at home, where I am happiest. My priority is my role as a homemaker for my husband and children. I think I have, more in the past, struggled with being seen as a homemaker because of my profession. People associate you with what you do for a living, but those who know me best know that I have a heart for home and family.
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I meant to say “not” being seen as a homemaker.
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Sheena, I understand what you’re saying. The question is often, “What do you do?“ People want to know the name of our job. I believe that your heart for your home is probably truly noticed. I’ve known women that had outside careers, but were wonderful “homemakers.“ It’s all about what you love the most. People may not always get it, but God knows your heart.❤️
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Thank you for this encouragement! I have been navigating the transition from being a full-time nurse (with no children) to a mom with two kids (and works one day a week) over the last three years. It has been a mindset shift as much as it has been a shift in my physical duties at home/work. The most difficult thing for me is meal planning and preparation. I’ve found some good recipes on your blog, though! So thank you!
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Thank you, Denise! Those words truly are a comfort – God knows!
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I love being home so much but am working at this time. But the good thing and reason I am is to be with my daughter at school.
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