Mothers And Wives

Mothers And Wives

[A virtuous wife] carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness.

Proverbs 31:27

Whenever I speak to groups of young moms, I reassure them that I found the early years of motherhood to be the most challenging. I think I felt that way for a couple of reasons. One was that during the years my children were young, I experienced many, many interruptions. Another reason was that when they were little, I didn’t seem to have a lot to show for all my efforts at the end of any given day. If you can identify with any of these feelings, you’ll enjoy the following story:

Too many times women are made to feel that they should apologize for being mothers and housewives. In reality, such roles can be noble callings. When I was on the faculty of the University of Pennsylvania, there were gatherings from time to time to which faculty members brought their spouses. Inevitably, some woman lawyer or sociologist would confront my wife with the question, “And what is it that you do, my dear?” My wife, who is one of the most brilliantly articulate individuals I know, had a great response: “I am socializing two homo-sapiens in the dominant values of the Judeo-Christian tradition in order that they might be instruments for the transformation of the social order into the teleologically prescribed utopia inherent in the eschaton.” When she followed that with, “And what is it that you do?” the other person’s “a lawyer” just wasn’t that overpowering.^a

I love that story! We can become so weary of doing the menial tasks that it’s easy to lose sight of the great privilege God has given us—to influence and mold young lives for his Kingdom.

Lord of life,

Thank you for the gift of children. We are so rich. Please empower us with your love, strength, and wisdom so we will raise children who will help to further your Kingdom. Amen.