Another day another dirty diaper.
Sometimes I find myself thinking...
"I have a college degree. I studied, wrote papers, and my parents paid a great deal of money for my education. I taught for two years, and now here I am. My days are filled with vacuuming dog hair, changing diapers, cleaning up spit-up, and trying to get creative with cooking meals for cheap. How did I get here?"
I am currently reading Carolyn McCulley's book Radical Womanhood. She brought up a fascinating point that I had never realized before. Our American culture in 2011 seems to place a higher value on the public sphere than on the home. Since when is the home not worthy of a college educated woman running it? Since when is that a "waste" of my time and money?
McCulley writes, "The heart of the home is found in the relationships nurtured there and the comfort offered to one another--comfort we have first received from God, the Father of compassion, and then share with one another (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). Home is no lesser sphere...'Just a housewife' is a phrase our culture uses to undermine the importance of the private sphere. Though the marketplace does not value the home beyond what goods can be purchased for it, the ministry to be found there is of immense worth to the Lord. The stability of family relationships, the care of elderly or disabled family members, the discipling and training of children, the warm reception of guests, the making of a lifetime of memories, the daily modeling of biblical instruction, the fresh nourishment in an age of processed foods that contribute to our general ill health, the joy of a Christ-centered marriage--all of these things have long-lasting, if not eternal effects. "
How encouraging! I'm glad I have a college education. I don't believe that choosing to stay home now is "wasting" that money. Now I get to be an educated and empowered woman working from my home, loving and serving my family and community, even it it never makes me a dime.
a typical dinner scene at the Hines home
