Successful Homemaking with Toddlers: Is it Possible? Part 3
After changing your definition of "successful homemaking" and committing to rely upon the Lord to give you the strength and grace to fulfill His calling in your life, you are well on your way to true success at homemaking while mothering toddlers!If you are married, this next point is vital:
2) Seek your husband's counsel and direction for how he desires you to manage your home and train your children.
God has given us our husbands to be our protective heads. Ephesians 5:23 says, "For the husband is the head of the wife, even as Christ is the head of the church..."
As brides of Christ (Christians), we are to seek to honor Christ as our Head and Authority. In the same way, as brides to our husband we should seek to honor them as our spiritual head and authority. God has called me, as a Christian wife, to willingly and joyfully place myself the leadership and direction of my own husband. I am to respect, honor, and submit to my husband as Christ so that glory of the Gospel of Jesus Christ might shine forth to the world through our marriage. (See Colossians 3:18; Titus 2:4-5; 1 Corinthians 11:3; 1 Peter 3:5.)
It is so important that we each seek the direction and wisdom of our own husbands for how we can honor him in the way we manage our home and children.
My husband knows me better than anyone else--he knows my strengths and my weaknesses, he knows my aptitude for being an over-achiever, he knows my perfectionist tendencies, and he knows how I often need someone to quietly remind me to slow down and focus on my what really matters. He knows how our family operates better than anyone else and God has given him the responsibility to lead our family. And I can trust God to lead through him.
Whenever I have a new idea I'm considering implementing in our home, when I need some counsel regarding what to do in a situation, or when I need some encouragement because I'm feeling overwhelmed, I want to first go to the Lord and my husband for direction.
It is so easy to want to look to others--to books, to blogs, to friends, even to wise older women--when we need to first look to the Lord and our husbands. I have often been guilty of this. I might hear of an idea that just sounds wonderful or I might be asked to participate in something, and, without even thinking twice, I jump on board.
Many times, after a few weeks, I'll find myself overwhelmed and stressed and wondering why on earth I took on this new thing. When I'm bemoaning this to my husband, he'll gently remind me, "Did you pray about it and talk to me about it or did you just commit to it without thinking?"
If only I would have stopped to pray and stopped to ask my husband's wisdom before committing to something, I likely could have prevented so much frustration!
I've also found that it is very easy to compare myself to others. I might read on another blog about something that someone else is doing and think, "Wow, that's a good idea; I really should be doing that, too." And then I'll scramble to try and figure out how I can make it work in our schedule only to find myself tense that I can't seem to add it in.
This tension can turn into guilt, "If I don't do such-and-such like this blogger friend of mine is doing, I'm not a good homemaker or mother."
Ever felt like that before? I've been there more times that I'd like to admit.
My husband is so wise to remove this guilt I'm burdening myself needlessly with by looking into my eyes and reminding me, "Crystal, all that matters is that you honor the Lord and honor me; don't worry about trying to be like other people."
What a relief!
And so, as you seek to be a successful homemaker with toddlers, I encourage you to learn from others and be inspired by others, but have freedom to manage your home and train your children in a way that honors the Lord and honors your own husband.
To be continued...
Labels: Home Management and Organization
posted by Crystal Paine at 8:00 PM
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