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A few months ago, I was thinking about what I would want to happen to my family should the Lord decide to take me home for some reason. I'm not really given to these kinds of thoughts and I wasn't dwelling on death or fear--it was just a practical sort of question I was asking myself.
I decided that I would eventually want Keith to find another wife--a woman who would love him and take care of him and who would love my boys as her own. Notice I said eventually. I did decide I wanted to be grieved over for a little while.
In the meantime, I thought it would be good for them to have some hired help. Someone who would take care of the home management--making meals, doing laundry, cleaning the house, along with a myriad of other responsibilities that, in my estimation, would make for a well-run home for my family.
It was with some alarm and chagrin that I realized if I were to (posthumously, of course) be the one to hire that person to take care of my family, and that person that I posthumously hired were me (you know, someone just like me), I would find myself in the position of having to (posthumously) fire myself.
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Alright. Aside from the convoluted and somewhat crazy imaginings I just laid out for you, it comes down to this: I realized that I wasn't taking my job seriously as a home manager. It would never be acceptable to me to pay someone to do this job and then find that my husband never had clean socks, the dishes are always piled up to the ceiling, and the baby is often still in the clothes he slept in at 4 PM. Oh, wait. So is the home manager. For Pete's sake! Couldn't she at least get dressed for work?!
Of course, I'm more than just hired help and I have the responsibility and joy of loving my family as well as taking care of the physical home that we live in. But part of loving my family well is providing them with clean, comfortable, peaceful surroundings that come from a well-ordered home. And a well-ordered home doesn't happen by accident.
It was at that moment that I decided to start honoring the Lord by beginning to take my role as home manager more seriously.
What about you? Does this post bring unbidden images of Donald Trump to mind? "You're fired." Don't let it be so. If you, like me, realize you, too, would have to fire you. . .get serious about your job.
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2 comments:
Ouch! So true, so very true.
Very good post.
Alicia
Used to read your blog until my computer died a death in April and I've been dying to get back to it - so sad to see you haven't blogged in a while. So I'm reading back through your archive and relishing every moment.
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I'm just starting out in trying to become a home manager - I just got married in September and before that I existed (barely) in my house, now I'm trying to cultivate our home. But right at this moment - I'd fire me.
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Thank you for the encouragement of your blog as it stands - even if you're not in the season to add to it.
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My blessings to you and your family.
Grainne
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