"She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. " Proverbs 31:16
For the first 11 years of my married life, including my first 5 as a mother, I worked outside of the home. I did so out of necessity to pay the bills. Not saying some of those bills were not our fault, but many of them were the standard: mortgage, student loan, utilities, etc. I went into motherhood knowing this would be the case, and I thought I was okay with that. Then I wasn't. My heart ached with guilt each and every day that I could not do all God had for me to do as a wife and mother because I worked.
Now I work from home, and thought the perks our OUTSTANDING, there are many times I STILL cannot do all I feel I am meant to do as a wife a mother because of work. So, I thought we might look more closely at our girlfriend from Proverbs 31. First, do not let ANYONE fool you into thinking that she ONLY worked on household chores. She did NOT only deal with domestic issues such as clothing and feeding her family, though she did do these things, and from scratch no less.
Consider verse 16. Now, before you say this was simply a garden, look closely at the verse above. See that word
earnings? She made money. I am unclear here as to whether to she already had earnings, bought the field, and planted the vineyard, or if the earnings were from the field. Maybe some of you who are more studied on the subject can help out. But one thing I do know almost for certain is that she DID NOT get paid to do regular housekeeping and mothering chores.
My point is, IF you have to work, please do not be discouraged and do not let the enemy condemn you. If you feel the Lord leading you to go a different direction, pray for Him to lead you to the way to do whatever it is He is asking, and obey Him. It may be that He is asking you to take a leap of faith and know that, though you may have to sacrifice some comforts, He will care for you. It may be He wants you to stay put and minister where you are, and if that is the case, ask Him how you can do so and still do what is required of you at home. He will NOT leave you hanging if you are willing to HEAR what he has to say. Even if it is to spend less time online, reading, or watching television. (Ouch)
If you are someone who is interested in working from home there are options, and not all of them include sales or making things. There really are real jobs you can do online to make money. I know because I found them. Try sites such as
WAHAdventures.com and
WAHM.com. These two sites helped me tremendously in finding job postings and weeding out the scams. Miranda and her team at WAH Adventures.com do a great job of helping you find what you can and and want to do, reviewing sites that hirer workers to work at home, and giving a host of other information. (Incidently, I am new to the writing team on this blog and some of my stuff should publish this week!) WAHM.com has job listings, helpful articles, and forums that offer a ton of information as well.
Whether you work outside of the home or work at home, chances are you feel pulled between doing what you are supposed to do and want to do as a wife and mother, and getting your work done. I pray this encourages you. The Proverbs 31 Woman earned money and helped with household expenses sister, so if you do it is OKAY. If this is what the Lord has for you and you feel overwhelmed, ask Him to help you prioritize according to His will so that you can do all He has for you to do.
