When most of us think of homemaking, we think of women who stay at home and care for the household and children all day. We rarely think of the working woman who comes home to a pile of dirty laundry and hungry mouths to feed. We have a challenge in our society to consider all women who are keepers of their homes.
There are many who believe that being a keeper of the home means to be exclusively at home. I would challenge that notion. After all, isn't it the small things that make a home a home? Most women spend a great deal of time keeping house. Even working women have most of the household chores on their "to-do" list. It's time to end the prejudice and make peace between all working women. (After all, all women are working women are they not?)
Take for example the woman portrayed in Proverbs 31. We are told that she is a *very* busy woman! She is responsible for food and clothing for her household. She has some sort of business, a cottage industry probably. (Prov. 31:24) She is an investor and wise manager of money .. "She considers a field and buys it; From her earnings she plants a vineyard" Prov.31:16 And, above all, she is praised and honored by her family! Who wouldn't want that?!
How do we apply these principles to our own lives as home keepers? The key is that we are to make wise, well thought out decisions. We are to learn to manage our time and resources in order to care for the needs of our families. Can't a full time homemaker and a working mom do these things equally? Sure it will take a little more organization for the working mom! But isn't she as deserving of familial praise? We owe it to ourselves to make friends on both sides of the fence, so to speak.
Paul exhorts us to "not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others." Philippians 2:4. As wives, mothers, home keepers, and friends we can do no less.
