making a home

There’s something deeply sacred about the role of mothers in the home.

God designed the family with intention. There’s a unique and irreplaceable value in a mother being present to nurture her children, to guide their hearts, and to create a home filled with love and stability. A home isn’t just four walls; it’s the place where little souls are shaped, where values are taught, and where faith is planted deep. I’ve had a dream to stay home and raise my babies since as long as I can remember. When Sam and I found out I was unexpectedly pregnant just six months after we got married, I knew my dream of staying home right away wouldn’t be realistic anymore. I was thrilled to be starting a family, but also devastated that life wouldn’t look the way I had always planned when we started raising babies.

Not where I thought I’d be

We reluctantly put Sterling into daycare when he was five months old, and I thank God for the provision of our amazing in-home daycare provider. Leaving your kids is never easy, but when your heart is set on staying home with them, it’s heartbreaking to drop them off someone else. Especially when you don’t love your job. Again, the Lord provided and opened a door to my current job, which I love. I’ve always felt called to church ministry, and I often feel grateful that the Lord placed me here when he did, otherwise I don’t think I would be able to leave my babies every day. Since Sam is finishing his last year of nursing school, not working is not an option for me as we rely on my income.

The Biblical precedent

It may be controversial, but I believe wholeheartedly that the Lord’s intentional design for mothers was to manage their homes, raise their babies, honor their husbands as they provide for their families. The Bible provides a beautiful image of the roles of wives and mothers, connecting the responsibilities of homemaking to a spiritual parallel of the Church waiting for Christ’s return. Just as the Church is called to remain faithful and prepared for Christ, wives are encouraged to create a home that nurtures, loves, and serves their families while waiting for their husbands to return from their work (1 Timothy 5:14).

Now, obviously, God’s original design was distorted in the Fall of man, and our reality isn’t that simple anymore. Especially not in the Western world, where feminism and career driven culture has convinced women for years that their worth should be found outside of Christ; in their careers and elsewhere. I don’t subscribe to the idea that women shouldn’t ever work outside the home (obviously, I’m doing that now!), and I believe you can be called to do things outside of the home even at the same time as you’re called to be a mother and a homemaker. The two aren’t mutually exclusive. But, I think there is a devastation to the nuclear family that has happened because of mothers being forced to work when they don’t want to simply to afford to live. I actually think it goes much deeper than that, but that’s a conversation for a different day 😅, so I digress.

So…what do I do?

Where do we go from here? If mothers ought to be home to raise their babies, but can’t for whatever reason, where does that leave us? Well, I’m glad you asked! For me, it’s here in an in-between season of working outside the home and managing my home simultaneously until I am able to stay home with my babies. And I suspect there’s a lot of moms in the same boat. I’m not saying there’s a right way to do it or that I have the secret to managing it all; I know that it’s nuanced and different for everybody. But I hope to reach the selected group of women who may be living in this in between as well; wishing for a way to stay home, but are working for the time being; stuck somewhere in between and wearing the stay-at-home mom hat and the working mom hat.

If that’s you, I’m so glad you’re here. I’m excited to share life with you, and encourage one another as we navigate a season we never hoped to be in, but will make the most of anyway. We do our best with what we have, and though time is limited and I never feel like I am doing it right, I suspect that feeling will stick around long after I am able to stay home with them full time. I’m still figuring it out as I go; creating resources and systems to make this season a little easier.

I sure hope you stick around! 🤍