A Nurse Comes Home Full Time
Hi Lori! I love your blog and your ministry to women. Unfortunately, there aren’t many woman even Christians who understand the roles women should play as a wife and mother. I am 33 years old and stay home with my children ages eight and ten. I began homeschooling them when my youngest was five. I was raised with a Christian mother and grandmother, but I was never taught that a woman should stay home. In fact, that idea was just crazy to me when my fiancee at nineteen told me that’s what he wanted me to do. (His mother always stayed home when he was a child.) I was told to go to college and maybe not even get married.
I got married young at twenty and finished college then worked as a nurse. It was hard even without children. My husband and I argued over everything from money to house work to what to eat for dinner. I ended up pregnant with my first child soon after beginning to work and continued until we both had it. We were both miserable when I worked full time. I attempted working part time after my second child was born, but that didn’t work out well either. I was miserable being away from my children and worried about them all day long even when they were with him. We were both exhausted trying to make it work. He was the first to say, “Why be married living like this?”
We could have end up divorced the way it was going. But the day I quit my job and we submitted to God’s plan for women, our lives changed dramatically. Our relationship changed. We became the couple we started out as. We are truly best friends and lovers.
We worried that money would be tight, but honestly, it never felt like it. Sure, we couldn’t go out to dinner every night or buy whatever we wanted. My shopping splurges changed from the mall to the dollar store. I couldn’t take the kids on every outing I wanted, but we learned the beauty in nature and simple days of playing games and going to the park. I have a clean home and dinner for my family. Most of the time some clean laundry. Ha! When we decided public school wasn’t right for our kids, it was an easy choice to homeschool. Our kids are well rounded and well behaved, mostly.
Every since, my husband has been able to focus on his job as a provider. He was able to go against the grain and start his own business with my support as his help meet. We have been very blessed with that. He is able to be home often and spend time with our children.
He and I plan that I never have to go back to work. He loves me being home with the children and being home when he gets home with a smile and dinner. I don’t feel imprisoned or controlled. I am genuinely happy as a wife and mom. I am glad to be here for my children and hopefully will be as they grow up and have families as well as whatever is in store for us in the future. I just wished I’d done it sooner!
I have followed your other blog off and on as time allows. I just want you to know what a impact it has had on me. It’s nice to read your posts about a woman’s role, and I love the posts about marriage. Thank you so much for sharing and being such an encouragement! Thanks for speaking God’s truth about women’s roles and not being ashamed or afraid to share. So many churches don’t fully teach this. They teach around it. Where would we be if most woman stayed in the home!
I will therefore that the younger women marry, bear children, guide the house,
give none occasion to the adversary to speak reproachfully.
1 Timothy 5:14
5 thoughts on “A Nurse Comes Home Full Time”
What a lovely post. The expectation for women to work outside the home is strong and starts early. My young daughter is already facing it (almost all from people who should support full-time mothering). I am almost always with her and can talk with her about it (and do). What is difficult for me though is explaining God’s ways while she sees the examples and fields questions from close relatives that have done it differently.
Lori,
Hip-hip-hooray and Hallelujah! Another homemaker went back home where she belongs! Sure loved reading this marvelous testimony!
*hugs*
Kelley~
Keep pointing her to the Word, Michelle, because it is our perfect instruction book. Our culture is going in the opposite direction of godliness and we need mothers who are willing to speak truth continually to their daughters. It’s tragic that she’s not even hearing it among other Christians.
Amen, Kelley! It always warms my heart when I receive an encouraging letter like this one. It will never get old.
Wow, how relatable! This is very encouraging! I graduated as an RN last year, but recently got married and am expecting a baby girl this summer. I’ve always wanted to stay home when I had kids! Definitely feeling the pressure from peers, family, & church members at times as I’m only 23, but I know I need to be there for my child 🙂 Have not worked again since marriage. Money is very tight, but God has not allowed us to go without. Not sure if you remember me, but I messaged you a few weeks ago about this! Thank you so much for the reply & Godly counsel Lori! 🙂