Homemaking goes beyond just keeping a clean and organized house with a gentle loving tone or, cooking for the family, it is about making the home a healing place where relationships that matter in everyone’s lives are built and the people who live there feel warm, loved, and safe to be themselves. Each member of the family needs room to learn and grow spiritually.
As difficult and stressful as this role can sometimes be for every woman, I’ve come to realize that homemaking is just as important as any other type of ministry because, as the wife and mother, the way our families feel at home speaks volumes about how we minister to their needs.
Does your home feel safe, peaceful, full of laughter, and welcoming? If not, it’s time to do some major clean-up! And sometimes it’s not just our house that needs a good cleaning. More often than not, our hearts are in need of a good scrubbing too. So let’s get started:
Acknowledge God And Seek Him First in All Your Ways
The first place a diligent homemaker must succeed is in her spiritual life. You must acknowledge that there is God and make your relationship with Him a priority. Ensure that it is the foundational relationship for the rest of the family. Seek the Lord with all your heart. It may seem hard at first but I assure you, it is as simple as sitting down by yourself and talking to Him as you talk to your friend. Thank Him for what He has done for you, ask Him for forgiveness and tell Him your burden. He will surely give you rest.
Seeking God first in all your ways is so important because, you will always need to ask God for His wisdom and counsel about everything, I mean everything.
Make Time For God And Establish a Good Relationship With Him
Building a personal relationship with God is just like a relationship with anyone else in your life. It is fellowship, love, and trust between you and Him. It means to know Him and to be known by Him. In fact, that’s our primary purpose in life.
If you have a very tight schedule like me, always running – you get up, get ready, rush to work, attend meetings, get back home, cook, attend to your husband and the children, then go to bed – you feel like you have no time for God, maybe you’ll make time for Him tomorrow, please take a look at your schedule. It can be more organized.
Take something out of your schedule or, add more time to your schedule by getting up earlier. You must take a few minutes every day as you are getting up or going to bed to talk to God and receive guidance.
Proverbs 31 in 5 Minutes a Day is a Bible study manual for women. It offers short lessons on Proverbs 31, a joyful poem describing the characteristics of a godly woman. Spend just 5 minutes daily to unlock the guidance in its verses, exploring who you are as a daughter of the King, and how to better serve Him in your family.
There are audio bibles and books you can also listen to while you are stuck in traffic. You have no excuse not to spend time with God daily.
You must also ensure that you create time for your family to fellowship with God daily. Making Time for God helps the family develop good prayer and quiet time habits and encourages them to turn to the Bible for answers to real-life situations.
Develop a Relationship With Others
Your relationship with others is important for developing your relationship with God. You need others to learn and grow spiritually.
For us Christians, it is easy to begin thinking that church is more of a social function than anything else. In fact, the church does serve as a social function and as a type of support group. We meet to encourage one another and to help each other grow spiritually.
As each person shares their experiences with God, you will be strengthened in faith and closeness with God. It is therefore important to join a group of other believers at your workplace, your church, school, community, and on social media. You never know just how much a relationship with others around you might strengthen your own personal relationship with God.
Listen To God And Obey His Word
Just as in every relationship, communication is a two way thing. While talking to God is important, listening to him is just as necessary. The truth is, God is always speaking to us but sometimes we fail to hear him. We can get distracted by so many things including work, social media, TV programmes, friends, family and even the challenges of life. Be sure that you’re not letting any distractions get in the way of you hearing God’s voice. Recognizing His voice is vital for your personal welfare, your family, and marriage.
Beyond listening to God, we should act in obedience when He speaks. Obeying God has a lot to do with trusting him. When we have developed a deep relationship with God, we will trust and obey Him.
I choose to pray for my family, trusting and obeying God even in the hardest times. That’s how I know and understand the will of God for my home. I also know when and why I should fight for my marriage based on God’s Word and what to do when ugly situations arise.
Learn To Depend on God More Than Yourself
Depending on God is crucial for developing a strong relationship with him. This means, praying and asking God for guidance before making a decision, asking Him to be with you throughout the day and to give you wisdom in your day to day interactions.
As God’s creation, you will always find that reliance on yourself is never enough. God knows everything about you and He has no weaknesses or limits. No matter how many difficulties you meet in your daily life, you must understand that, God’s grace is sufficient for you. Learn to depend on Him and receive comfort for yourself and, to comfort others. You may get distracted when things don’t go as you plan in your home but, when you depend on God, He will graciously answer your prayers.
Developing a relationship with God is a process; it won’t happen all at once. Sometimes you’ll think your relationship with Him is strong and the next time you may wonder if He’s even there. But, that’s a part of the journey.
Add the tips mentioned above to your schedule and you will have more purpose, energy, and love for life and family. In the long run, your home will feel safe, peaceful, full of laughter, and welcoming to everyone.
Remember, when things are good in your home, take the time to build and fortify your relationship with God. Never become complacent about your relationship with Him because there’s always room to grow deeper!
