It is easy for any wife and mother to become distracted with the multitudinous duties that daily await her. When we add in the duty of teaching our children — and teaching them well — we can sometimes feel overwhelmed!
It does us well to remember what our real duties are — and what they are not. To shift our focus from the urgent to the one needful thing.
If we really stop to consider how we spend our time, what makes up every single minute of our day, we might surprise ourselves at how far we stray from our purpose. After all, no one can replace a wife’s support, encouragement, inspiration, cheer, love, and interest in her husband. No one can replace a mother’s tender touch, sympathetic ear, watchful eye, or faithful diligence in the training of her children. And no wife or mother can possibly accomplish all of this without first sitting at Jesus’ feet — the one needful thing.
The care of our home is our first duty. While that will look different in every home, it might mean:
- Meals not hastily prepared, but breakfasts, lunches and dinners planned and prepared with propriety and enjoyed by the entire family at one time at the table.
- A house well-kept, clean, well-maintained, and free from clutter.
- A home where order reigns, not chaos; where good attitudes are encouraged and disputes are few.
- A home where cheerfulness is displayed in a hundred different ways — warm smiles, cheerful flowers, bright colors, lovely music, or an array of personal touches.
Many of these things require us to go slow — quite the opposite of the general way we do things these days!
…[T]hese fluctuations of feeling will by degrees give place to a calmer life, especially if I avoid, so far as I can do it, all unnecessary work, distraction and hurry.
If we haven’t accomplished all that we want at home, perhaps we can take a closer look at how we do spend our time. Perhaps there are activities, inside and outside the home, that can be put aside, at least for a time, as we reconsider our priorities.
It is to be understood, that for every wife the first duty is the making and keeping of her own home! Her first and best work should be done there — and until it is well done — she has no right to go outside to take up other duties. She is to be a “worker at home!” She must look upon her home as the one spot on earth, for which she alone is responsible, and which she must cultivate well for God — even if she never does anything outside….
Let it be remembered that Christ’s work in the home is the first that He gives to every wife, and that no amount of consecrated activities in other spheres, will atone for neglect or failure there.
DIY Homeschooler 