This is another letter that is going to hurt a bit. Some of you aren't
going to like what I am going to suggest. But it is straight from the
Word of God: "She gets up while it is still dark." Or another version
reads "She rises before dawn." Who is the LORD talking about in this
verse? The homemaker. The blessed woman that is chosen by God to make a
home truly a home. The homemaker. The woman who is the heart of the
home. The homemaker. The woman who (in the world's eyes) looks like she
has been entrusted with very little, but really she has been entrusted
with very much. How do I know this to be true? I have read and
prayerfully practiced bit by bit this beautiful passage for over five
years.
I began practicing it when I had a newborn and three young children, one
of whom I had just begun homeschooling. I am still practicing it. I pray
to be practicing it until I go to meet Him. And the more I practice it,
the more I see the incredible worth of my quiet job. The same job that I
would be doing even if my husband were a missionary in Africa. For no
matter where I am, I am a homemaker. I no longer look at homemaking the
same. It is a blessed, blessed job. And it is so important that the LORD
makes mention of beginning it quite early in the day.
Does He mention this early dawn rising in His Word to make us feel guilty
and inadequate? Does He mention this early rising to tire us out in a
day? Or does He mention it because it is the wise thing for a homemaker
to do and it can indeed be done through Him.
Five and a half years ago I began to practice rising before dawn every
day. It was not easy. I was not a morning person by any means. I liked
to sleep in. I also had been up the night before quite frequently with a
four week old newborn. But I was so sorry about the way I was living my
life and managing my home. So I promised the LORD in a serious time of
pain that I would get up early and get to know Him better. At first I
was mad at myself for making such a promise. But I feared God and knew I
better keep my promise. So I figured I would "tithe my time" to Him. I
gave Him twenty-four minutes every day. With my eye on the clock, I read
His Word and tried to pray in a half-dozed state at 4:00 in the morning
before my husband came into the kitchen at 5:15 a.m. Between nodding off
and jolting awake I managed to get the 24 minutes in a day. It was
definitely dark outside. It was definitely before dawn. I had never seen
this time of the day on purpose before.
I am ashamed to say that I gave the LORD this small amount of time as if
I was doing Him a favor. "For whatsoever a man sows, that will he also
reap." But the LORD was going to surprise me. I was going to fall in
love with Him and His Word and beg for more time in it. For I had begun
to ask Him every morning to let me know Him as He truly is and not as I
perceived Him to be. I had begun to ask Him to help me love Him with all
my heart, soul, mind, and strength. I had begun to ask Him to love
others through me by the power of His Holy Spirit. Even though I had been
a Christian since I was a young girl, I had never known what it was like
to truly fall in love with my Father and trust Him with everything. My
Father Who had been loving me all along. So I forced myself to be there
every morning. I will say that again. I forced myself to be there every
morning. It was the one part of my day that I grabbed a hold of and
sleepily gave to Him. He rewarded me more than I can ever write.
I would read this verse every day after my study of the Word, "She gets
up while it is still dark; she provides food for her family." He began
to show me that I was providing the most important food first. The
spiritual food. Without this soul food, I wouldn't have the right
attitude to prepare the physical food. For "the kingdom of God is within
me." ( Luke 17:21) And as the kingdom of God became more and more deep
within my heart, I started to affect those closest to me. I started to
have a Bible study with my kids and to pray regularly with them. I
started to memorize Scripture with them and sing songs to the Savior
while we worked together. I started to "swallow my sharp words" with my
husband and let my hands speak love to Him while waiting for His Head to
do what I could not.
Everything that I am going to be sharing with you about how God is
reorganizing my day, my relationships, my home management, and my
finances is founded on my getting alone with Him first for a deep time in
His Word. I am taking you to the most important corner of my day. If I
do not start in this corner first, I am going to fizzle fast. Remember
how I told you I was always tired? My problem was that I did not know
Him nor walk in His Priorities or at His Pace. When I started to get
into His Word daily and deeply, to talk to Him before talking to anyone
else, I began to see where I was making unwise decisions about my time,
my relationships, my home management, and my finances. I stopped blaming
everyone else and started to focus on the main problem: me.
You might be tempted like I was to blame someone else. You might be
tempted to look for a perfect home management system rather than falling
in love with Jesus Christ your LORD. You might be tempted to overlook
the Disciplined Worthwhile Pursuit (seek first the Kingdom of God and His
Righteousness) in favor of a day managed on your own. That is why I am
emphasizing the spiritual food before I get into the physical food. For
it is so tempting to skip the falling in love of Our God for the service.
But what does this verse say?
"I love you, LORD, my strength." Psalm 18:1
The strength comes after The Love. The horse that draws the cart is
"Love the LORD your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength."
The cart that follows that great strength is "Love your neighbor as
yourself." The homemaking cart is loving your neighbor as yourself. The
strength that draws this incredible load is "I love you, LORD!"
Love,
Laine
P.S. What if your husband works late? What if your husband doesn't want
you to get up early? What if you are so tired during the day from "rising
before dawn?" We'll get into these issues next week, God-willing. I look
forward to our next time together.