In the days when I was raising my children and not working outside the home, I would sometimes bristle at calling myself a “homemaker.” It made a better title than “housewife” (which I couldn’t stand!), but didn’t seem to cover what I considered the extraordinariness of my job. Often I would correct people and insist that I wasn’t a mere homemaker, but a home manager.
With my children long into adulthood, I’ve now moved on to so many ventures beyond the home that I tend not to identify myself with the homemaker moniker any more. But as I began decorating for Christmas with the passing of Thanksgiving, I’ve turned to rethinking the notion of homemaking and how important it is.
Of course, on one level homemaking is ordinary. It’s something that unites us with all creatures; it’s not just humans who make homes! Nothing living thrives in a hostile environment.
In that sense we are all homemakers. Whether you live alone, or as a couple, with or without children, where you live reflects not merely your needs, but your personal tastes and character.
But what makes a home happy? What creates a warm, nurturing atmosphere for residents and visitors alike?
Is it love? Surely, Jesus had a happy home. Despite being born into poverty and under a cloud of social scandal, our savior had loving parents and a family full of brothers and sisters. His family may not have always understood Him, (think of Jesus as a 12 year old hanging out at the Temple in Luke 2:41-50) but they certainly loved Him. Later, during His ministry, Jesus would lament His loss of home life, “Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head” (Luke 9:58).
Yes, love makes our homes warm, but also something more than love. The only word that captures what I’m going for here is the Hebrew shalom. Shalom means not just peace, but also wholeness – a unity with what is good and holy that can include everything from sidesplitting laughter and to heart-smiling silence.
Of course, we can’t fill our home with shalom, but it is the housewarming gift the Lord brings when we invite God to live with us. It’s in the collaboration of our “art” and divine grace that our homemaking becomes extraordinary.
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