Are You a Wise, or Foolish Woman?

Proverbs 14:1 “Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.”

This verse resonates deeply within me.  I always wonder if I’m tearing my house down, or if I’m building it up.  In today’s day and age, being a homemaker, is not something that is always highly regarded.  It is however such a vital, and important role.  I sometimes wonder if homemakers understand the influence and power they have within their home.  We are the ones that set the tone of the house; we instigate deep conversations, make warm comforting food, and a pleasant atmosphere.  We work so hard with our hands, sewing, baking, and scrubbing all to build up our homes.  We care for our husbands and children; we do everything we can to be their helpers and assistants, making their lives warm and full.  It’s so easy to get lost in our tasks.  Easy to get lost amongst laundry, cooking, cleaning, organizing, holidays and birthdays.  Too often we forget our priorities, forget that our homes are important, and should not be forgotten.  It’s not just brick and mortar these homes we live in, they are havens, memories, laughter and love.  I do not want to be a woman who is so foolish I pull my home apart.  I don’t want to be so consumed with other things that I forget one of my biggest and greatest ministries, my home.  Sometimes our distractions come as something that is, by itself a good thing.  For example, church activities.  If you are so consumed with volunteering, and participating in church activities that your home, and family are suffering, then you’re priorities aren’t right.  I’m not saying you should not volunteer, or participate, but I am saying if you are helping with church activities, but you are so stressed out, frazzled, and exhausted that you have a short fuse with family, and your housework is suffering then you need to reprioritize.  This could also come in the form of having employment outside of the home.  By no means do I think it’s wrong for a woman to work outside the home, but I do believe that in some circumstances, and in some seasons of life (especially involving young children) women are best suited to be at home to care for them.  It can be so hard to say no, but we need to remember that it is ok to say no.  It’s ok to be at home, making and building our homes.  It’s ok to not be actively involved in all the different activities that church, school, and work provide.  I often times feel guilty about being a homemaker.  This was not our original idea of what our life would look like after marriage.  I feel a bit weird that most other women work, but here I am, a 24 year old stay at home wife.  I talked to my husband about this, and he understood.  He works with a lot of other guys and he said he didn’t know of any them who had wives that stayed at home.  He said when explaining our situation to others he said that if I worked we’d have greater expense with car payments, gas and insurance.  He also said that he tells the guys that when he is away, I do all the cleaning, have food ready when he gets home, and (this was my favorite part!) he said that when he is at work, he doesn’t have to worry about anything at home.  His words really resonated with me, and I really realized that what I do matter.  I get tired of sweeping, laundry, and dishes, but I am building my home by doing so.  When I decorate for holidays, when I bake silly themed cookies or cakes, I am making memories.  My challenge to you is to look at your lives.  Be honest, are you a foolish woman, tearing her home down?  Are you being snarky with your husband and children?  Are you stressed, burdened, and exhausted because you are over committing?  If so, take responsibility, pray, talk with others if you need to and fix it.  Let’s all commit to being wise women who build our homes, let’s put those bricks back where they belong.