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This article is from Today's
Native Father, issue #118, November/December, 2001. Related articles
from this issue: |
Keepers of
the Home A Letter to Mothers by Ilva Hertzler |
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Dear Ladies, In the first century, the Apostle Paul wrote to one of his bishops, instructing him to tell the women of his church to be “keepers at home” (Titus 2:5 KJV). I like that word “keeper.” It is a very old word that is not used often today. My dictionary says that a keeper is a person who is responsible for the preservation and conser-vation of something valuable. It is a person who guards and watches. It is a position of dignity and honour. Modern examples would be a zoo keeper or the keeper of a wildlife preserve. Keeper of the home—what anawesome responsibility! Who is doing the keeping in your home? Are you keeping the home or is the home keeping you? I have met women to whom the home is nothing but four walls and a roof, a prison. They feel penned in. They feel they have to get a job to be fulfilled. Clutter, frustration, anger, boredom, lack of schedule and lack of purpose fill up each day. I think back to my days as a young mother. I didn’t have the vision for my family that God had. There were times that I felt bored. Hum-drum days filled the calendar. My family didn’t get everything my heart should have offered them. BUT, I was glad to be at home. I still am. Now that my children are grown and gone, I seldom get bored. There is much to do and much joy in doing it. I want my home to be a gracious and welcoming place, to reflect my own caring heart and sense of style. I want others to feel a serene and joyful atmosphere in my home. I want my husband and children to feel safe and welcome here. Being a keeper at home takes creativity, work, faith and a vision for making it happen. It is a chaotic world out there. You and I have a chance to create our own “inner world” of order and harmony. Does it take a lot of money to be creative? Not at all! Rearrange furniture. Use a pretty sheet for a tablecloth, curtain, or pillow cover. Candles, fresh wild flowers, fresh bread and inexpensive baskets from a yard sale can be spirit lifters. Then there is the way you express your femininity. Are you content with drab clothes, drab colours and drab surroundings? Look around you. Look at you. What is there? How can you express that feminine YOU? How about a bit of perfume when you are doing housework? A dandelion on the kitchen cupboard while you are making supper? Lace on the bed sheets? A candle in the bath-room? Simmering cinnamon on the stove for some home-made aromatherapy? A fresh outfit to welcome hubby home? Or simply having a clean house? Clutter frazzles your spirit and fights against serenity. Make your bed as soon as you get up. Have a corner or big chair where family members can go without being interrupted. Take time to de-junk a room. Suzanna Wesley had seventeen children. When she needed some stillness, she threw her apron up over her head. Her children knew to let her alone during that time. Two of her sons, John and Charles, teamed up to found the Methodist movement in England, which resul-ted in thousands of transformed lives. Which brings me to one more thing. Do your family and friends sense a spirit of godliness in you? Have you made a personal commitment to Jesus? Are you reading the Bible and spending time in prayer? Are you sticking close to God's people? All these help to make you a more effective keeper of the home. Just writing this letter to you has made me want to be a better keeper of my home. A book which has blessed me is The Spirit of Loveliness by Emilie Barnes. Stop by for some fresh bread and tea. I’d love it. Ilva |
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