Homemaking

“Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?” (John 6:9)

If you’ve read any of the first 4 books of the New Testament, you would’ve come across the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand. Yes, it is the account of how Jesus multiplied 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish to feed thousands. Last Sunday, a guest preacher at our church illustrated the chain of giving in this miracle. A mother gave the bread and fish to her son, the son gave it to the disciples, the disciples gave it to Jesus…

Although his emphasis was on the giving part of this miracle; what struck me most, was how it began. This was something I hadn’t thought of before. Although it’s not mentioned in the Bible, a mother probably gave the bread and fish to her son. Did you get that? A mother, packed her son 5 loaves of bread and 2 small fish for his lunch.

Was that where the the miracle began? A seemingly small gesture of a mother packing her son lunch?

I wonder what was running through this mother’s head that morning…

Was she in a frenzy trying to get all the household work done, while taking care of her kids?

Was she worn out, wondering how on earth she could possibly get everything on her to-do list done that day?

Was she questioning the worthiness of her mundane tasks at home?

And when her son asked her for a picnic lunch, maybe she was a bit annoyed…

Oh great! just what I need…

My son’s running off to hear some man, and leaving me to tackle all the chores alone…

Do I really need the additional task of fixing him a picnic lunch?

Why can’t he come back home for lunch? Or grab something on the way?

And yet, we know that the son had his lunch with him when he went to listen to Jesus. The mother had packed a small meal for him. And you probably know the rest of that story. {If you have no clue about the story, you can read all about it here.}

I wonder what the mother’s reaction was, when the son explained the miracle to her when he got back home. I can imagine her filled with awe, humbled that Jesus would choose to use her meager offering to perform a mind-blowing miracle.

If you, like me wonder at times if the mundane tasks you do at home really matter… Take heart, my friend. The simple things you do for your family, are no different from the 5 loaves and 2 fish that another mother, in another era, packed for her son. And that was where the miracle began.

That mother received almost nothing in return, no glory, no acknowledgement; save the knowledge that God had used her little offering to bless thousands. Can we be content, knowing that the little things we do in our home – those pesky, mundane chores that drive us crazy; are indeed an offering to God? Yes, they are! Now off to fold a pile of laundry! 😉

“Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (Colossians 3:23)

Photo Credit: Phil Roeder

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Proverbs 31:10-31 – Every Christian woman has read this passage at least once in her lifetime. When I first read it, I was ecstatic! I said, “Wow! I know what God wants for my life.. He wants me to be this woman”. And I faithfully highlighted every character of this perfect woman. Over the past 10 years, I’ve loved, hated, envied and attempted (a lot) to be just like her.

We are currently reading Proverbs 31 in our Good Morning Girls Bible study, so I made up my mind to work on this, once and for all… Except, it didn’t quite work out like I expected.

Last Monday, the kids started kindergarten, and I was all too eager to keep my home as a Proverbs 31 woman would. I woke up early, went for my morning run, got the kids ready, got them fed, walked them to the school bus, had my quiet time, swept the house, did the laundry, ironing, dishes, decluttered two rooms, cleaned a bathroom, blogged, got lunch ready and rushed off to pick the kids back from school.

I was quite pleased with myself – I had worked non-stop and it was worth it. The look on my husband’s face when he walked into our clean, uncluttered living room was priceless. All my hard work had payed off, and I was elated… until late evening, when I fell sick :(.

I had gone a little over the top and ended up sick for a couple of days, causing quite a bit of inconvenience to my family. It was time to take stock of what I was trying to accomplish as a Proverbs 31 woman. As always, God spoke to me through a number of blog posts and I learnt quite a few things. Here are a few more details about the Proverbs 31 woman…

1. She let God take control of her life. She feared the Lord.
2. She is a portrait of a woman’s lifetime, not a single day.
3. She probably wasn’t perfect, because none of us are.
4. God’s grace covers our shortcomings.
5. She wasn’t a real woman! She was a compilation of all the qualities that King Lemuel’s mother wanted in a daughter-in-law.

The last one hit home.. I learnt that from the book “Pursuit of Proverbs 31” by Amy Bayliss. I know for sure, I will have high expectations of the women my sons will one day marry.

Well, so maybe I’ll never be everything the Proverbs 31 woman was – and that’s okay. But this passage has been included in the Bible for a reason – not to cause us stress and end up with a burnout. We ought to emulate these characteristics throughout our lifetime, through several years, and maybe decades. I may not get there today, or next year, but I’m going to try – one step at a time.

As long as I keep my eyes on Jesus, and walk in His will – step by step, I know He will teach me to be a better woman, wife and mother. And one day, my family may call me blessed… But that is not what I long for. What will make my day {or in this case, my life} is this… that I will hear my Father say “Well done“!

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