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5/1/2021 Comments

Stay At Home Mom

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My daughter recently shared a YouTube video entitled ‘Day in the Life’.


I smiled as I read all the sweet comments people posted, until I got to the very end.
The last comment implied that her life as a stay at home mom was outdated and old fashioned. A slam against everything that she loves, and the calling she feels God has placed upon her heart.


I thought back to earlier that evening. I had been babysitting my granddaughters. As I folded clothes in my laundry room, they laughed and played along side me, and in that moment my heart felt so incredibly full. Precious memories came flooding back of similar moments I shared with my children when they were that age.


You see~I was living my dream.
I am living my dream.


All I ever wanted to be when I was little was a wife and mother. Sure I had hobbies and thought about vocations I might enjoy, but ultimately the dream was to be a wife and mom. Just like my mom.


I never really knew how deep my passion was for such a dream until I was much older.


Right in the middle of this mom life,
despite all its craziness, I realized my dreams had come true.


I cannot explain the peace that comes over me when I am home, doing home things. I’m in my element. Being a wife, a mom, a grandma. Cooking and cleaning and laundry and baking and taking care of this home God has given me and the hearts He has placed in my hands. Little hearts to mold and nourish and raise and love. And then to let go.


There is nothing on this earth that I would rather do.


But apparently, that is outdated.
It’s old fashioned to think that way.
It’s a ludicrous idea to some to actually love taking care of your home and the little hearts God has given you.


And to me, that is sad.


I raised three daughters and a son. They are all grown now and we’ve added 6 grandchildren to the mix. Two of my daughters have jobs outside the home and one has chosen to be that old fashioned vocation ~ A stay at home mom. I am immensely proud of all of them.


Do I believe one is better than the other?
Do I think it’s wrong to work outside the home? Let me be very, very clear here~
NO I do not, but I do believe it’s wrong when one of the greatest vocations since the beginning of time has been made into a mockery. What has become of us as a nation when being a stay at home mom has been belittled and looked down upon? Where mothers who choose that life are made to feel “less than” or stupid.


Don’t get me wrong, I know there are women out there who abuse the system. Who don’t understand the true meaning of ‘wife’ and ‘mother’ and all that it entails.


But to those moms who are living their dream with a passion~ it is a high calling.


I am not ashamed to say that I am living my dream. In fact, I’m not ashamed to say that I love my husband, that I love making him his favorite meals or taking care of the home that his job has helped provide.


Sadly, even marriage has been deprecated along with the homemaker. If you dare to say that you love cooking for your husband, or God forbid sharing intimacy together, instead of a helpmeet and lover, you are ridiculously labeled a ‘live in maid’ or even worse, a ‘sex slave’.


Why do I find joy in these things that I do?
Why do I believe I am living the dream? Because of the crazy amount of love my heart holds.
Love for my God Who has provided me such a beautiful family and this dream home I have been given to live in and take care of.
Love for my husband, who daily loves me back in so many different ways that too often I take them for granted.
Love for my children, and the breathtaking wonder that these super, awesome adults were once cradled lovingly inside my womb.


I’m living the dream because my heart is overflowing with thankfulness and love.


Today I sat across from my three grandsons as they ate a piece of their mommy’s homemade carrot cake. The atmosphere might have appeared messy to some. School work was on the table, dishes were in the sink and all I could think was~ my daughter is living the dream too. What a dream. She’s raising boys who will grow up into men. Men who will have a part in leading our country into a better tomorrow. Maybe preachers or fire fighters. Maybe teachers or coaches. Men who will have an impact. Men who will become husbands and fathers.


The kind of husbands you want for your little girls one day. The kind of fathers you want for your grandchildren.


What a tremendous calling and privilege has been placed upon her heart.
The raising of future husbands and fathers.


I so often hear on social media the need we have for strong women. I cannot think of a stronger role model for generations to come than that of a stay at home mom.


The time we have with the little lives entrusted to us is barely a whisper in the echo of eternity. But that whisper can become a mighty shout for God’s glory in the halls of their futures. Every single moment spent at home with them is an investment into that future.


Please hear me Mama, your dream may not be the vocation of stay at home mom like mine is. That’s okay. There were several women in the Bible who worked outside the home. Maybe it is your dream to be a stay at home mom, but you don’t have the means to make it a reality. Regardless of what each of our situations may be, I think we can all agree that our children and grandchildren need a better future.


I truly believe that future begins in the home, with the heart of a mother.


Our focus needs to shift. It needs to change. The title Mom should never be downgraded. Instead, it should be applauded. It is a strong woman who has chosen such a job. A woman with some of the greatest strengths of all.


The strength of thankfulness and of love.
It isn’t a strength she possess on her own, it is a strength that can only come from an even greater love.
That of her heavenly Father.


As I was leaving my daughter’s home, her youngest hurt himself and came to me crying. I kissed his little finger and the boo boo magically went away. Someday he will be doing the same for his own children. Tears welled up in my eyes knowing I have had a small part in such a beautiful high calling.
To be his mom’s mom.


To be a stay at home mom.


To think that God has allowed me this is beyond my wildest dreams~
and I get to live that dream every single day.


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