In my mind there is the one way. Her house is clean and uncluttered. Her washing is neatly folded and placed in tidy drawers. Her children are well-behaved (and if they're not, she has her discipline system all worked out, and applies it without anger and with consistency). She gets up at 6 every morning to read her Bible and pray. She's a brilliant cook, turning out healthy meals and home-made cakes. Her family eats with candles and napkins, and discusses helpful topics as they use their knives and forks. There's no pile of un-dealt-with school notices and ancient-things-she-meant-to-get-to-years-ago next to her phone. There are many ways of being a godly woman.
I visited a friend the other day. She confessed that her cooking reached an all-time low last year when she made toast for her family's main meal - and burnt the toast. She has a large family, and the house isn't huge, but there's often a boarder living with them, and you'll usually find some of the local kids hanging out. She works in ministry, sleeps until 8 every morning, and the kids do their chores before she gets up. She's brilliant with a paint-brush or a spanner. When people arrive at the door, she laughs at the mess and asks them in. She has gifts of evangelism I can only dream of, and loves, chats and gently hectors her friends into the kingdom.
Put her in the domestic goddess box, and she sticks out all over the place.
I can't live up to her. I can't live up to the domestic goddess either. But I can be me. I can be the godly woman God made me to be.
With God's help I can, anyway.
And yes, before you ask, I know there are lots of non-negotiables in being a godly woman, some of which I wrote about in this series. But lots of variety too, depending on personality and circumstances!
5 comments:
You know, the thing about those "piles of un-dealt-with school notices and ancient-things-she-meant-to-get-to-years-ago" is that if you leave them there for long enough, eventually you can just toss the whole lot in the bin and clear the kitchen bench in one easy sweep.
I was going to make a witty comment about how well you had described me in that opening paragraph...but I guess the opening sentence of my comment gives me away ever so slightly.
Thank you - I've only just been introduced to your blog in the last two months, but am thrilled you've decided to start again. Thank you for the reminder that we're not all the same but that we can all be godly. x
Meredith, glad to know I'm not the only one with the pile! Although in my case, the things at the bottom can't be swept into the bin - they are too important - which says something about my neglected pile!
Thanks, Morning and Evening, glad to have you reading along! :)
Hi Jean! Yes, those lovely piles. I have a spot INSIDE my kitchen cabinet for what I call my admin pile. It is hiding, but it is still there. I take the whole thing out regularly (probably not regularly enough!) and sort it, but whenever it gets smallish, it doesn't stay that way for long! I also have a much larger TO FILE pile, but I agree with Meredith on that one. I think by now I could probably toss the whole thing (except for maybe the deed to the house :) ).
Glad to see you writing again! This was a great post and a good reminder!
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