Photo By: Emma Galushkin
Stay at home mom. Housewife. Homemaker.
These all words to describe a job that our society doesn’t recognize. These are all words to describe a job that our society often says is not important.
I used to feel ashamed to say I’m at stay at home mom when someone would ask me what I do for work. I would quickly add in that I used to teach, or that I’m doing photography now and sometimes clean houses, or that daycare was just too expensive so that’s why I’m staying home.
But I’m not ashamed anymore. I am no longer ashamed that I stay home so I can make healthy meals for my family, so that I make a budget and shop sales, so that I can keep our home clean and inviting. I am no longer ashamed to say that I stay home so that I can be the one to raise my children, to teach them and to read to them everyday. I am proud to be a stay at home mom, a homemaker, a housewife.
I am no longer ashamed that I am doing what my husband and I decided is best for my family. I was a working mom for a season, and after a year we realized that it was taking a toll on our relationship, our household, our kids, and our family as a whole.
The decision for me to stay home wasn’t an easy one for my husband and I for for a few reasons. The first being, I loved working. I loved my job. I loved teaching English and getting to know my students. I had gone to college and spent all this time preparing for this job that I was now about to give up to do what I had always said I never would do…stay home with my kids.
The second reason was, living off of one income is a major challenge in this new society where both parents are expected to work to make a livable income. With the rising cost of rent, groceries, gas, vehicles, insurance, etc. (especially in Hawaii) staying home is not an option for every family. We didn’t know how we were going to make it on one income when I stopped teaching, but we decided to just trust that God would work it out. And guess what? He did.
He provided and is still providing for our every need. He provided my husband a better job, with better pay, and better hours. He provided a place for us to stay for only the cost of utilities. He provided scholarships so that my husband to attend college and finish his degree. He provided us a second, bigger car at a price we could afford when we had our third baby this year. He’s provided baby clothes, diapers, high chairs, furniture, and food. He provided our savings account enough money to pay cash for numerous car repair bills this summer.
He had provided more than we ever thought possible, and he continues to provide for us in new ways every single day.
I’m not saying it’s been easy, or that we have the newest and latest gadgets, or a shiny new car, or even a house with separate bedrooms for our kids. Heck, we don’t even have a bathroom in our house. But we have a roof over our heads. We have fans to keep us cool during the day. We have comfy, clean beds with soft blankets and sheets to climb into at night. We have bookshelves full of books. We have a garden outside our front door. We have a fridge stocked with healthy foods. We have a table out on the porch to share meals at. We may have a very small home (450 sq. ft) but it is comfortable, warm, and inviting. We have a car that is big enough to fit all of us plus a few surfboards on the weekends. We have everything we need and then some.
For us, going down to one income meant sacrificing eating out a few times a week, going out to buy a coffee every time we were in town, living in a bigger house, buying new clothes all the time, driving newer cars, buying whatever groceries we wanted at the store ect.
But it also meant growing closer as a family. It’s meant I had to learn to let go of my pride. It’s meant I had to learn to be grateful and appreciative for a husband who works over 40+ a week to provide for our family. It’s meant learning to trust that God will work it out.
Stay at Home Mom. Homemaker. Housewife. Those words make the job sound easy, simple almost. But staying at home is so much more. You’re a teacher to your children. A nurse. A friend. A chef. A financial advisor. A side hustler. A house cleaner. A chauffeur. A chef. A grocery store shopper. An extreme sale hunter. An interior designer. You are all of that and so much more…you are a mother, a wife, a daughter of the King.
Stop letting society tell you that your job isn’t important. Stop feeling ashamed of what God has called you to do. Be proud of the work you do in your home and with your family.
Now, I would love to hear from you in the comments down below…What’s something someone has said to you when you told them you’re a stay at home mom?
