She watches over the ways of her household… 

It is often said that in the home, the woman is Queen of all that she surveys. This is as it should be, and is a Biblical pattern for us tof follow, but I prefer to think of the woman as the Captain of a ship. The Wife and Mother stands at the helm of her ship, steering the family through both calm and stormy waters. It is a great responsibility, and can sometimes feel like a lonely one.

A friend on a forum posted an article, Motherhood as a Mission Field about motherhood, which begins:

The closer you get to home, the less intriguing the work of sacrifice seems. As someone once said, “Everyone wants to save the world, but no one wants to help Mom with the dishes.” When you are a mother at home with your children, the church is not clamoring for monthly ministry updates. When you talk to other believers, there is not any kind of awe about what you are sacrificing for the gospel. People are not pressing you for needs you might have, how they can pray for you. It does not feel intriguing, or glamorous. Your work is normal, because it is as close to home as you can possibly be. You have actually gone so far as to become home.

Being a Mum, a Wife, a Homemaker (all capitalised, because they are all names we carry) is a most over-looked, under-valued position, but an exceptionally valuable one. It is unglamourous, un-noticed, repetitive, sometimes drudging and occasinally even plain boring. It is so easy to count what we do as being so small as to be insignificant, and yet we are playing a vital part in the smooth running of our society. Family life is at the heart of a successful and healthy society, and it is a sign of our times that as the traditional family is ever more fractured and distorted, society has become more unpredictable, less caring, even dangerous. When we take the helm of the ship of family life, we are doing something which can and will benefit all, not just those closest to home…

Offered with thankfulness, your work at home is only the beginning. Your laundry pile, selflessly tackled daily, will be used in the hands of God to clothe many. Do not think that your work does not matter. In God’s hands, it will be broken, and broken, and broken again, until all who have need of it have eaten and are satisfied. And even then, there will be leftovers

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