There are a couple of thoughts whizzing round my head at the moment. The first is to point you in the direction of this blog, where Mrs B talks about why she is a Keeper At Home. I think it is a lovely post and a gentle but great encouragement to those who are stay-at-home wives without children. How I long to be there!
The seond thought is more of a ramble, a jumble of half-thoughts and feelings that I cannot quite deal with yet. We eventually told Hubby's mother (a non-working wife whose children have both left home) that I was no longer working full time. She thinks that my 'day off' is a jolly, and isn't it lovely to wake up on Fridays and know that I don't have to go to work and can do what I want. While that to a certain extent is true, I feel that I work harder and do much more worthwhile things on that one day than I do the rest of the week!
MIL also made another comment which really rubbed when I mentioned that one Friday I would be having lunch with the ladies from my Alpha group and she just came back with 'well, you can't spend money if you are not earning it'. I felt all these arguments coming into my head, but instead I just said that lunch was at a lady's house and not 'out'. Arguements like 'I do work and earn money, just 4 days a week' and 'you don't know how much I earn, or for that matter, how much Hubby earns, so how can you know what we can afford?' 'you don't earn money and yet spend hundreds of pounds every week on fripperies, eating out and working out, so why does a different set of rules apply to me?' But why do I have to justify myself to her? Why do I feel that I have to justify myself to her? She doesn't work because 'she doesn't want to be committed to anything'. She doesn't work because working would impinge on her social life. I am reducing my hours because I believe it is what God wants for my husband and myself, for me to be a better wife and helpmeet. And yet, I am the one who feels looked down upon and disapproved of. I guess the reaction will only get worse and with more people the less hours I go to work.
But following Christ was never meant to be easy. We will be misunderstood, we will suffer at the hand (and tongues) of those who think they know better. But who am I to demand a suffering free existance when Christ went to the cross for me? And my circumstances are hardly suffering in the grand scheme of things. But I do know this, following God's way will bring peace, a peace that is far greater than anythine else this world can offer.
The seond thought is more of a ramble, a jumble of half-thoughts and feelings that I cannot quite deal with yet. We eventually told Hubby's mother (a non-working wife whose children have both left home) that I was no longer working full time. She thinks that my 'day off' is a jolly, and isn't it lovely to wake up on Fridays and know that I don't have to go to work and can do what I want. While that to a certain extent is true, I feel that I work harder and do much more worthwhile things on that one day than I do the rest of the week!
MIL also made another comment which really rubbed when I mentioned that one Friday I would be having lunch with the ladies from my Alpha group and she just came back with 'well, you can't spend money if you are not earning it'. I felt all these arguments coming into my head, but instead I just said that lunch was at a lady's house and not 'out'. Arguements like 'I do work and earn money, just 4 days a week' and 'you don't know how much I earn, or for that matter, how much Hubby earns, so how can you know what we can afford?' 'you don't earn money and yet spend hundreds of pounds every week on fripperies, eating out and working out, so why does a different set of rules apply to me?' But why do I have to justify myself to her? Why do I feel that I have to justify myself to her? She doesn't work because 'she doesn't want to be committed to anything'. She doesn't work because working would impinge on her social life. I am reducing my hours because I believe it is what God wants for my husband and myself, for me to be a better wife and helpmeet. And yet, I am the one who feels looked down upon and disapproved of. I guess the reaction will only get worse and with more people the less hours I go to work.
But following Christ was never meant to be easy. We will be misunderstood, we will suffer at the hand (and tongues) of those who think they know better. But who am I to demand a suffering free existance when Christ went to the cross for me? And my circumstances are hardly suffering in the grand scheme of things. But I do know this, following God's way will bring peace, a peace that is far greater than anythine else this world can offer.
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