Peacefully Livable

We had only been married a few months when I heard it.  We were at a friend's wedding.  The pastor (who was also the groom's dad) was talking to the bride.  He talked about all of the normal things one would expect to hear in the message before the repeating of the vows.  But I was struck with one I'd never really thought about.  The idea of providing a place of peace at home for her husband.  A refuge.

When I was in college before I met my husband, I dreamt often of what forever, marriage-covenant love would be like.  I remember passing by the tiniest little log home along the road and thinking, "We could live there."  Home is what you make of where you live.  And this is the image that sticks in my heart even now as I remember that marriage ceremony.

Home is what you make of where you live.

I love the idea of having a refuge.  A safe place to go in any circumstance or storm.  So I dedicated myself to doing all that I could to make this of our home.  So that when my Honey got home from work, he could truly rest.  A place of peace. 

But I am an easily distracted woman of many interests.  Which means that I rarely stay on task.  Especially now that I am a mom.

So, as you might imagine, if you were to step foot into my home at any unannounced moment, you would likely find kitchen counters strewn with breakfast dishes and a dining room table buried in craft supplies and/or evidence that I've been working on writing that elusive article that will one day be published.

It can be hard to juggle that role in the realm of wifedom.  Providing a place of refuge, I mean.  Not putting too much emphasis on how things look, but keeping the space in which we live . . .  well, livable. I have found, however, that I enjoy my home so much more when it is not a mess.  And, frankly, so does my husband.

That's why I'm committing this week to show my vigilance as his wife by keeping our home peacefully liveable.  And by peacefully liveable I mean that, while we will continue to use the dining room table for our crafts and writing endeavors, we will pick up the mess that we make when we're done.  And, while I will not vacuum everyday or dust more than once, this week, I will do my best to make sure that when my husband gets home from work he doesn't feel like he has to fight his way through the kitchen to get to the living room.  So he can feel peacefully at home.  And enjoy it.

Today is Vigilant Wives Club Monday.  I hope you will join us as we commit to show our vigilance as wives by loving and serving our husbands in new ways this week.

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