Torch, Fall 1983

Housework by Bernice Bowersox H ousework! Yuk! What a topic! Housework! That's what women do and no one ever notices - until they don't do it! Its the same old thing, day after day - so boring! Does this sound familiar? Haven't you thought it, read it, and heard it many times? I certainly have. Yet God tells women in several Bible passages (for example, Proverbs 31: 10-31 and Titus 2:3-5) that they are to be actively engaged in the work of their household. What is "housework"? What does it involve? And why do we generally have such a negative atti– tude toward it? First, a definition, courtesy of Ran– dom House Dictionary of the English Language: Housework - the work of cleaning, cooking, etc.,to be done in housekeeping ... the main– tenance of a house or domestic establishment; management of household affairs. Cleaning, cooking, laundry, shopping, yard work, painting, papering, sewing, mending - the list could go on and on - and that is part of the problem. Particularly for a mother with young children, but for the rest of us as well, the assign– ment can seem overwhelming. There are so many different tasks and most of what we do accomplish seems to self-destruct within a few hours! While the washer is running, the hamper is filling up again, more towels are being used, and . . . well, you can add many examples, I'm sure. It's hard to get excited about doing a job that's never really done. We all need a sense of accomplishment from time to time, and the nature of housework usually prevents us from achieving that satisfac– tion. The messy, dirty, smelly, physically hard tasks of housework absolutely have to be done by someone and most of us can't afford a live-in housekeeper, butler, maid, or nanny, so ... what are we to do? First of all, and it's not just semantics, we can retitle the job description from "housework" to "homemaking." The work may never end, at least while the children are small, but the goals each of us choose to work toward can provide us with frustration, or with satisfaction. The choice is ours . For the woman who has committed her life and abilities to Christ, being a homemaker will enable her to focus her work on making a house into a home, a place where people feel welcome, sheltered and safe. Then housework becomes a means to an end with the ,ultimate goal of glorifying God in a life of purpose. Making beds and doing laundry become willing service to one's family. Cooking becomes hospitality to family and friends and even to angels unaware. Taking out the garbage and doing yard– work are training sessions for your own or the neighbor's children. A paraphrase of I Chronicles 28:20 says, "Be strong and courageous and get to work. Don't be frightened by the size of the task, for the LORD my God is with you; He will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly.'' There is an opportunity for satisfaction in each job as it's done, as exemplified in this poem which my mother recently shared with me. II t ~~~~~;.Vl~~i ~ If I stop to count all the work I must do - f The washing, the ironing, the meal-planning, too, [.' ?. The floors to be cleaned, the dishes that wait - !~ ~ The very thoughts tire me - The work seems so ~J great! ~ t I stew and I rave - J "This house is a prison! . ~ And I am its slave!" t ~ But, when I get busy ~ And push things along, . All the while I keep praying f5 ~ And singing a song. ~ ~ The first thing I know t ~ All the dishes are done, G ~ The rooms look so neat, t ~ Clean clothes hang in the sun. · ~ And tho' I am weary, ~ :l At heart I'm serene . i ~ For my house is my kingdom, & ~ Author Unknown ~~ And I am its queen! ~\ ~<>•o<i'~~;,,~~-..,,K>-~~~;i,,~6 Mrs. Bowersox is the mother of five sons and was graduated from Cedarville College in 1970. Currently, she is on the board of the Bapti st Children 's Home of Ohio and is recording secretary for the Cedarville College Women's Fellowship .