Happily Ever After?
I grew up on fairy tales. What little girl doesn’t love the stories about a beautiful young maiden being rescued and whisked away by a handsome Prince Charming? These stories always ended with the happy young couple marrying and starting a life together.
In today’s society, “happily ever after” comes after the house is bought, his and her cars grace the driveway and two careers compete for the time and affection the Prince and Princess have for each other. What has happened? Where in the story did the Princess decide that she was no longer joyful scurrying about her home, taking pride in a job well done?
I was speaking with an internet friend recently and she said that a message I had posted upset her. It was about a lovely home where the woman participates in the home activities that make a house a home. She argued with me that it’s not that men aren’t programmed to do these jobs; it’s that they are lazy and choose not to--a popular opinion.
If you have a microwave and a toaster in your kitchen, which one do you use to make toast? The microwave? No, you realize that it will not toast your bread evenly; it will simply make it hot. Yet I doubt any woman would stand in her kitchen and argue that the microwave should be making her toast. No, it simply does not work that way.
It is the same for man and woman. We are created for different jobs. There is nothing demeaning about managing a home. It is not a lowly calling to stay home to cook, clean, decorate, sew, sing, rock babies, read, and rejoice! Our homes are a haven for our husbands. We can and we should take up this calling with rejoicing in our hearts. We are not men, we are womb-men! How incredible to be so blessed!
Is it a radical idea that long after the Prince and the Princess said “I do” that the Princess continued in her home, putting on her apron every morning and singing as she went about her daily duties. Do we really think Cinderella traded in her broom for a briefcase? I think not! I think in the heart of hearts of most women, we want to take care of our family. We want to create a lovely home for our husband to rest his head at the end of a long day. Our struggle comes not from within, but from outside influences telling us we should be pursuing something more valuable, something “worthwhile”.
We are told we should be getting out of the house, getting “involved” and most of the time that means being separate from our family and our home. The most important thing you will ever do will be done within the walls of your home! You are called for something spectacular. You are a wife and a mother. An occupation to be praised!
Long after the honeymoon, I am still at home, proudly donning my apron, holding my broom and rocking my babies. I spend my days investing in the most precious of all resources: my God, my husband and my children! I have the freedom to be everything God called me to be. Who could ask for more?
MELLISA COFFEY
St. Marys (on the Naval Submarine Base), Georgia, USA
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