Does a Homemaker Have a Positive Effect on a Family?

This post is reprinted from The Homestead Happenings newsletter, courtesy of Crystal Miller. Visit her website at The Family Homestead. Crystal also has a WONDERFUL country store with natural soaps, lotions, and other goodies. Her items are Estrogen Files approved!

Does a Homemaker Have a Positive Effect on a Family?

Does a homemaker really have a positive effect on the family?
In this day in age when more children are being raised by day care centers, schools and baby sitters and husbands are fending for themselves as they go to work daily, it is hard for me to imagine that a mother at home providing care, love and support would not have a positive effect on a family. It will only be a mother’s love that will make the biggest difference in the life of her family. She will be the only one who will truly care about the condition of her children’s hearts, her husband’s countenance and the value of providing a refuge and sanctuary for him from a chaotic and often times stressful working world.

The focus of so many today is on the financial. It is getting harder to live in this society on one paycheck. It takes a lot of determination and commitment to do this. I had a mother tell me the other day, “I am willing live in an apartment, small home, or trailer with our 5 children if this was the only option that allowed me to stay home”. In other words, she was saying she was willing to do whatever it took so she could afford to stay home. Staying home and caring for a home and family is a value. Often it has to be a value that is more important than the allure of the material.

I also realize that some women must work for various reasons. This article is in no way a judgment on the ladies with a heart for their home but who must hold down a job outside of the home. I recognize we are all in different places in life; sometimes by circumstances that are just beyond our control. I have felt my main ministry is to encourage the homemaker who stays home to care for her husband and/or family.

The Positive Effect on Her Husband
My husband loves the fact that every morning I get up with him and pack his lunch, get his coffee ready and give him a kiss as he leaves for work. Over the last 20 years at his current job he has been the envy of many men as he would pull out his lunches at work that consisted of sandwiches made on homemade whole wheat bread, containers of home cooked soup, stews or other savory meals, homemade cookies and more. For the first time some of these men had a glimpse of what they were missing in their own homes. This was a picture of a man who had a wife at home who was there to benefit and support his life in a positive way. My prayer would be that some of those men may rethink the value of having a wife at home. Our society just does not see these things as a whole. We have been fed the line that says a woman at home is a waste of a positive financial resource. What a shame.

The Positive Effect on Her Children
If you have still have children at home, who will be there for them in their time of need? Sometimes the needs of a child go beyond clean clothes and being fed. A child needs to be nurtured. I am doing a devotional study with my children currently and the book cited a test done many years ago (sometime in the 1950’s). In this test they had a group of orphaned babies divided into two groups. In both groups the babies were fed and clothed and their diapers changed. But in one group, that was all that was done and in the other group the babies were given love, hugs and a little nurturing. Guess which group thrived? The group with no love actually lost weight and had more emotional problems than the group that was given the love and attention. What does this say about the need to be loved and nurtured?! I will say as a side note that I felt a great deal of sadness for the poor babies that were used in this testing.

My husband was raised by his working mother and her husband. He recalls often of a time period in his life when he dealt with an overwhelming feeling of insecurity. One day stands out in particular to him; no one was home and he felt alone and quite insecure. He went to a woman who lived next door to him and asked her if he could just come in and be with her. She let him in her home that afternoon and she gave him something to eat and he just sat and watched TV with her. You know, personally, I would never want my children to have to go to a neighbor’s house to find a mothers security. God has given me these babies to love, protect and nurture and to provide for not only their physical well being but there emotional well being too.

The List Goes On
The list of homemaker’s positive effects goes on and on. Who is giving your children their values? A baby sitter? A day care center? Who is concerned about your family’s health? The fast food industry? The local deli? The “take and bake” pizza place? Who is the most concerned about the day to day needs of those that God has placed in your life? The local public school? The neighbors? No one, no matter how well meaning, can care more than you do for your own family.

You see there are sacrifices to make to achieve anything worthwhile. If it was easy, everyone would do it. But that is what makes it a value to cherish and protect. It is the reason many will say “no” to so many of the trappings of this world and trust the Lord to meet their family’s needs as they serve Him by serving the ones they dearly love. So in conclusion, YES, a homemaker absolutely has a positive effect on her family!! ~big smile

Thank you, Crystal, for the wonderful article! If you'd like to subscribe to this newsletter, please visit Crystal's site.

New book out there called "Feminine Mistake" about giving up too much as a stay at home mom and don't we know better by now? Better have a job just in case my man leaves. Love this article as a rebuff.

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