There’s a huge difference in how women go about house work.  And the difference in how they go about it makes all the difference in the world to how they finally feel about their work and what it accomplishes.

As Christian wives and mothers we are called to serve (To see how we are to serve, see Titus 2:3-5).

As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. 1 Peter 4:10-11

The fact is, homekeeping, if taken up as the career of service that it is, and taken up with the right attitude,  has many rewards and blessings.  I’m not talking about keeping a spotless, cold home here. I’m talking about keeping your home to the level of cleanliness and organization that you and your family finds acceptable and livable, creating a warm and loving atmosphere, organizing enough that everyone can usually find their own things and finding personal satisfaction in all you do at home.

I am talking about doing your best and purposefully cultivating the right attitude about your career as a homekeeper.

Like any other job, homekeeping gets hard, confusing, stressful and yes, boring.  And like any other job its is up to the worker to find solutions to all those trouble spots. Consider for a moment that homekeeping is meant to be a career.

Ask yourself: “If I was someone’s employee would I be an asset to the company working the way I do at home?”

I have never liked just sitting around even if I had some bonbons to accompany me. In fact, it is difficult for me to sit at the computer for more than a few minutes at a time!  I have never been able to just sit at home and do nothing. I don’t think most women who stay at home want to sit and do nothing all day. But often, its up to us as individuals to get up and find something to do.

I will be careful to live a blameless life–when will you come to help me? I will lead a life of integrity in my own home. Psalm 101:2

That’s part of being self-employed, and that is truly what homekeeper’s are.  The fact is we have careers, our careers are in our homes.  So it is up to us to find what needs to be done and find ways to do it. We don’t usually have anyone standing over us telling what to do next so we must be self-motivated to learn and do.

I certainly realize that keeping a home day in and day out is not something that interests some women. Its not always enough in the mental stimulation department if you can’t find interesting things to learn and do at home. That’s why a lot of women have at-home businesses. It lets them use all their creative energies and remain at home.

Other women find an outside job where they can use their talents and I would never tell you that is wrong. I wish everyone could find the joy and intellectual stimulation that I find at home, but they don’t. We’re all different and in different situations. It is a blessing to live in a  culture where a woman can go and find a job that interests her and brings in some money.

But let me just lay it on the line for you;

Some women go to college and get a degree in a field that is interesting to them and then get out there and get a job that they love. God bless ’em!

Some women get a degree and then after they get that job all they want is to get home and raise a family, keep a home, love a man and take care of the home they make together. God bless them too. It’s hard to come home after you’ve been in the work force for many reasons.

Then there are those women who don’t have a degree but do get a job. They are often dissatisfied with their pay, sometimes they feel guilty about leaving their children with others, but these women usually feel like they must work. A little money coming in is better than none. And some of these women just want to come home.

Some of all these different women, whether they love their work  or not, feel like they are neglecting their home. Then once a women comes home, she sometimes just wants to get back to work outside the home!  What is the answer?

Only you can find your answer. And it might take a while, might take you trying a few new things, talking to God about your role in life. I know that if you stay at home, it will take you viewing your role as a homekeeper as a service career. You simply cannot come home and sit around with little or no purpose, especially if you’re coming from a  job where you had responsibilities and goals to reach.

Like other service careers in law enforcement, doctors, nurses and public health workers, your career as a homekeeper is one of service and it pays with dividends of respect, honor, love and appreciation. You don’t get that from your family? Perhaps your family needs a few patiently taught lessons on homekeeping as well!

Wouldn’t it be great if all women at home could find joy and purpose in what they are doing? I know that not everyone reading this does find joy in homekeeping.  I have not always found joy in it. There was a time when I strained and struggled to find a way to get out of my home and into the workforce.  The best thing that ever happened to me was that I could not get into the workforce. I was at home. And that is where God began to teach me about homekeeping, how important this job is to Him and how to find joy in it.

Slowly I began to find little bits of joy and purpose in being home. Successes, new skills learned, new interests cultivated all brought me closer to finding joy at home. Being able to be at home with my children was a huge area of WOW for me. I was able to address  behavior as it came up, able to discipline and teach them the way we wanted them to grow.

Joy comes when you are too busy to notice it. It comes when you know you’ve done a good job. It comes when you see your family enjoying the fruit of your labor. You find joy when you invest yourself in something worthwhile. It comes when you sit down in the afternoon with a cup of coffee and a good book and realize that you have been busy accomplishing quite a lot that day.

Purpose is different, it is something discovered, then cultivated and grown. Building purpose for yourself in your home is what will finally help you to see that homekeeping is your career, not simply something that you do because you can’t do anything else.

She perceives that her merchandise is profitable.
Her lamp does not go out at night.
She puts her hands to the distaff,
and her hands hold the spindle.  Proverbs 31:18-19

It took a while but I did finally realize that I had several purposes in my home, a career at home, and it brought me great joy. What’s the difference? The difference is attitude and determination to be your best simply for the joy of doing your best. If you are a homekeeper, be determined to be your best in your home.

Like the Proverbs 31 Woman, be determined to branch out, learn new things, find creative ways to use your particular talents in your home. Homekeeping, like every other job, is what you make it. Don’t be afraid to come home. Don’t be disappointed that you can’t get out and find a job. Bloom where you are planted someone once said. What you put into it, is what you will get out of it.  No one can take away from you your accomplishments or the knowledge  that you have done your best.