Homemaker

Yesterday our Young Women's lesson was titled "Home Environment." My first impression was, "Blah," but after I read the lesson and realized what it was talking about I got so excited. I love my job as a homemaker and was thrilled to be able to share my testimony and enthusiasm with the girls. And in preparing the lesson my motivation increased as I read some wonderful statements about the importance of homemaking. One quote that inspired me said, "A clean, well-ordered home provides the climate where love and peace abide, where family memebers find refuge from the troubled world about them, and where their spirits may be uplifted and renewed." Of course cleaning isn't my favorite thing to do, but when I look at it with this perspective I feel so good about the time I spend making our house a "house of order." Another quote said, "Our challenge is to make our earthly homes like the heavenly home we so recently left and to which we hope to return." When I look at my job as a partnership with both David and my Heavenly Father I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to focus full-time on these responsibilities. I am also grateful for the freedom and flexibility staying at home affords me. I can't think of any other job where I would be able to pursue my personal goals and interests to the extent I can by being a homemaker, and where every day provides a practical application of those goals. Cooking, quilting, writing, running, sewing, reading, gardening, decorating, and volunteering all apply specifically to my responsibilities as a homemaker. Other people can only pursue these goals on weekends or in their time off. Of course you don't have to be a full-time homemaker to contribute to your home environment. I salute all of the working women who still try to make their homes a refuge. No matter what our situation, homemaking is a valuable pursuit. It's value cannot be measured.