A Little Background
I always knew I wanted to be a stay at home mama when the time presented itself. Keeping a home comes naturally to me. I love cleaning, organizing, and cooking. I’m great at coming up with home design projects, pulling weeds, and buying too many throw pillows. The children’s closets are color coded by hangers and their toys are in labeled bins. I own a laminator. And a silhouette. I am that mama. I digress.
While I enjoy the aforementioned Martha Stewart mannerisms, they are also what I easily hide behind. They are my safe zone. My home is clean and freezer full of prepped meals because these things make me feel productive and worthwhile.
My Internal Battle
I’ve been home for almost 10 years now. 10 years at home means 10 years of producing no income. This has been my personal struggle: I’m not making any money, so I must find a way to make money. To show myself worthy. To really be of value. For years, the enemy fed me lies about my job at home. For whatever reason, I didn’t believe my responsibilities were measuring up. All because I wasn’t helping contribute financially.
Instead of praying and seeking peace, I tried a few endeavors: an online cupcake business, a fitness coaching gig, selling our farm fresh eggs. None of it worked because none of it was part of His plan for me. I tried to force all of these “money making” ideas to work. I spent hours upon hours trying to make these businesses profitable.
Revelation
Within the last few years, the Lord opened my eyes to a few lies. I don’t need a career outside of our home to be valued and successful. First and foremost, my worth and value are placed in Jesus Christ. Ephesians 2:10 says
“For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.”
I shouldn’t look to the world’s standards of success for my worth, but trust in what the Lord has prepared for me. Secondly, He has faithfully provided for our family and made it possible for me to stay home with our children. Why do I consistently worry there isn’t enough? Matthew 6: 31-33 tells us
“So don’t worry, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear?’ For the idolaters eagerly seek all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be provided for you.”
Instead of worrying about my place as a homemaker, why not focus on growing and building out the income that's already in place?
Being a homemaker is completely relevant. Maintaining a well-oiled machine, such as a peaceful, loving, and functioning home, is absolutely a noble career. And for this season in my life, this is the Lord’s plan for me. I’m leveraging my organizational skills and type A persona to learn how to maintain our finances and build a better future for our children.