I'll add, too, that the term "stay-at-home mom" marks an interesting and no healthy shift from the older "housewife." That is, the woman's role is defined in terms of what she does for her children, not what she does for her husband or for her husband and children together. Her primary duties as a married woman are, in this pseudo-conservative vision, to her children. But that doesn't accurately describe what she is in that home, or what her actual devotion to her husband is....Nowadays it is a privilege (and practically a luxury) for a woman to be able devote herself entirely to her family. Like any vocation, being a wife and mother should be embraced with joy. Joy is not always a feeling; it is an overall attitude which comes with seeking to do the right thing. Every vocation is a challenge which demands a certain level of creativity. Making a comfortable and cheerful home, day in and day out, is no small task. How homemaking and mothering came to be so denigrated in our society I will never understand. Share
The Last Judgment
4 days ago
9 comments:
My understanding of the role of wife and mother since becoming a Christian (first as an evangelical Christian and now as an Orthodox Christian) is that my duty is first to God, then to my husband, then to my child.
My husband and I are currently working to pay off debt so that I can stop working outside the home full time and be a housewife. We are also hoping to homeschool our son (I recently posted a prayer request about this). However, even if we were not seeking to homeschool, my husband and I would like for me to have the privilege of being a full-time housewife.
I will pray, Juliana. Financial obligations are such a challenge for many, many families.
Yes, they are. Thank you for your prayers!
The good news is that my employment position allows for my wife to be a housewife, a full-time homemaker.
The bad news is that my wife apparently finds no joy in her vocation and has no desire to make our house a home. Frankly, I just don't get it.
Ken, sadly there is a whole generation of women who have been raised to look down on housework and homemaking as inferior occupations. And many are not even taught how to run a house, or anything domestic. It is not really their fault but the fault of how they were educated.
"Ten thousand women marched through the streets of London saying 'we will not be dictated to,' and then went off to become stenographers."
GK Chesterton
I love that quote. :>
That's so funny; I've never heard it before!
So beautifully said Elana. Have been reclaiming the word housewife lately, since that's what i am really. And "making a comfortable and cheerful home, day in and day out" is at the core there even for those of us not blessed with bearing children...
Peaceful week to you : ) Wendy
And to you, dear Wendy!
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