As I previously discussed in Shepherding Our Future Woman, Joanna and I are intent on helping Hannah become the woman that God wants her to be. In particular, Joanna wants Hannah to know "the joys of being a wife, mother, and homemaker. . . . We must tell our daughters of the sacrifices that homemaking demands -- but also of the unsurpassed rewards it offers."
What are some specific homemaking skills that we can teach our daughter, so that she can care for and help her family? It is a very diverse list! (And please don't think that I'm saying every woman needs to be an expert in all these skills, any more than I believe that every man should know how to grill a steak or change the oil in his car; I can't do either.)
- General management and organization of the home
- Nutrition and health
- Decorating capabilities
- Childhood development and education
- Finances and budget
-- Joey Espinosa
You can't grill a steak? Really?
ReplyDeleteSo here’s my second try at a comment since my first one was lost when my internet disconnected. I’m sure the first one sounded better, but here it goes:
ReplyDeleteI’m so glad that we, as a church, are talking about gender roles as God intended them and teaching boys and girls to become men and women who aim to live lives fully in line with how God created them.
Though my mom did many things well, teaching me about being a wife and mother was not one of them. I feel like there were 2 main reasons for this. First, my mom had (and in many ways still has) low self-esteem. I think that after I reached a certain age (like 5) my mom didn’t really feel like she had anything of value to teach me, which is not true. Also, I think that my mom saw potential in me, and believed I was capable of doing things that she wasn’t capable of, so she encouraged that and pushed me to do those things – namely academics. For as far back as I can remember in my childhood, she told people I was going to be a doctor or lawyer. I enjoyed the attention, praise, and encouragement, so I continued to pursue these things…selfishly. So this line in the “Homemaking” article hit me hard:
“Women make academic decisions about course work and majors with little thought of the value of specific areas of knowledge for running a home, raising a family, or educating children…”
My choice of degree and the career that goes with it actually conflicts with my ability to be a wife and mother (because of the time commitment). I don’t think that thought crossed my mind in choosing a major, though, and if it did, it was certainly a fleeting thought. Now, I have learned much valuable information through my education and experience that will translate into the role of wife and mother, but in order to assume that role, I will have to sacrifice the career I fell in love with in college.
By grace, though, from college through today, God has placed many wonderful women in my life who have modeled how to be a godly woman, wife, and mother to me. For the first time in college, I began to embrace this amazing calling on my life – that of wife and mother. Now, I would willingly and gladly give up my career for this higher calling of God.