Today I had a great day, I got a lot of work done and the kids played well together for the most part. That is always a great day. Had a little alone time with my dear husband in the evening, good supper, and a fresh start to look forward to tomorrow God willing.
I don't think I will ever tire of the simple things in life, things like what I just described. The children are a joy, the husband is the love of my life, and the house is a thing in this world put in my care. But, at the same time, it is so much more than just a house. Sure, it keeps us warm and safe during a storm, cool and comfortable during the heat of summer. But, there is so much more to a home than that.
As a keeper of my home I see the value in making the comfort extra special. I may not have perfected it yet but I had a good start as I wrote about in my first post here, what my mother taught me.
I think she really taught me much more than she knows. Maybe I didn't see the wisdom in it all until just recently but the way she ran the house certainly had it's impact. Let's not forget my dad in this, his leadership, his prayers at supper, his guidance in all things spiritual and good, his ever seeing eye of what was right and wrong with his children was such a huge part of all of it. To me as a daughter I see how great his role was in my life but this post is about how I learned to live out my role, as a woman. So, we'll save that daddy daughter stuff for another day.
I remember some of the toughest times of my life were in public school. I would literally think, it doesn't matter because at the end of the day I get to go home! (And thankfully home is where I stayed once my folks started homeschooling me!)
I looked forward to being at home, it was my sanctuary. It was a place of peace and acceptance, love and nurturing, comfort and safety. No bullying, NO YELLING, NO FIGHTING, NO BASHING OR UNFAIR EXPECTATIONS. Home was safe, it was a place where we were all gathered together as one family and mom and dad were the center of that.
Sometimes I wonder the importance of things like cleaning seeing as kids tend to remember the fun stuff but you know what? The fun stuff....it can be cleaning! Isn't it grand!? That a daily chore can be so much to a child. Well, it can and it is. It was for me at least. I know we all have our own childhoods to look back and learn from. But for me, cleaning with my mom and the sanity her discipline, diligence, and peaceful way of just going about getting it all done gave to me was so important in how I live my life today.
She never seemed to grow tired of doing what she had to do to keep everything clean for us. She had such diligence, never letting selfish desires keep her from her duty...she didn't eat the bread of idleness. She was a strong woman who worked swiftly and with purpose. Was it always the proper purpose, honestly I don't know. I was just a kid. But I know what the proper purpose is now. To do everything "heartily as unto the Lord".
And yes, a clean house can matter. The kids may not ever know what you do or how you did it, even if that is the case, it matters to their world. The comforts and home you create not just by cleaning but by doing all of it WITH JOY and with them...it will matter to them.
It isn't just in the cleaning, but in the attitude. The attitude of servitude to our family, love, honor and respect to even the smallest child. The desire to create a clean place of comfort, joy, happiness and good times for our kids to come home to or stay home with no matter if they are public schooled, moved out, or home schooled...it is our job to put meaning into the saying "HOME IS BEST".
For me, home was best and still is. Home was best not just because it was clean, well kept, dad kept up with repairs and mom made great meals...though that did help to show how they cared through actions...but it was in the fact that I always felt how much they loved having me around. Their smiles, their asking me to help them, by their way of showing that I didn't just need them but that they too needed me. They never hid their emotions, their love of the Lord or the fact that they expected us to work hard too. We knew, we knew we were loved, cared for, and that we weren't expected to be perfect...just as our Father in heaven loved us it seemed my parents here on earth did their best to love us the same and still do even though we moved out. Thank God for such wonderful parents, I pray I can be half the parent they were.
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