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When I was in college, I had a professor who endeared himself to me by his dedication to his students, his conversational style of teaching, and, of course, his northern accent that was just northern enough to be endearing and not grating. (Sorry to those of you who have a grating northern accent—just kidding.)
Although I tried correcting him, my name always fell off of his lips sounding like Bree-AWHN-uh instead of Bree-ANN-uh. After a while, I gave up and learned to like the way he said my name. It sort of went into the box of "Quirks About Dr. Howard That Make Him Endearing".
In my classes with Dr. Howard, there were a few themes that were often repeated. One of those themes that I remember so clearly is "Be intentional".
Dr. Howard and I had a discussion once about what I thought I'd like to do with the education I was receiving (a B.A. in Christian Education: Family Ministries). I expressed my desire to have a family and focus on raising my children and being a helper to my husband Keith, who was planning to enter youth ministry. Dr. Howard, with chin in hand in his characteristic way, replied, "Whatever you do, Bree-AWHN-uh, be intentional about it."
His comment disturbed me at the time because, in short, I had no idea what he meant! I wondered if he was hiding some sort of disapproval of my choice for home and motherhood. Looking back now, I think that he simply meant, well, exactly what he said.
It is easy to float through life without purpose or direction no matter what path you choose. But I've realized after being a wife, homemaker and mother for a few years now, that it is exceptionally easy to lack a sense of purpose, direction or intentionality when you're in the midst of the mundane and seemingly meaningless tasks that come with homemaking and mothering. Things like washing dishes, folding laundry, changing diapers--these tasks can feel like they all run into each other in a stream of one meaningless task unrelated to the next.
Be intentional. I've realized that when you step back and look at the role of being a wife, mother and homemaker from a wider lens, those mundane tasks do have meaning. In fact, I'd argue that being intentional—doing things with a sense of purpose—is even more important as a homemaker than perhaps any other vocation. After all, the truth is that our job has serious eternal value. We're talking about the hearts of our husbands and children. We're investing in hearts that will last forever. Now that's something to do on purpose.
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