Before people come over to my home,
especially if it is their first time visiting, I feel like a
crazy woman running around, making sure that everything
looks better than it usually does. My husband tells me that
people don’t care about our home being clean as much as I
do, and I think I comprehend that, at least a little bit.
But still, I find myself stressing more than I ought to.
This is why I wrote last month’s survey—my suspicion was
that many of you were in the same boat as me—feeling that
you had to work extra hard just to have somebody over to
your home. My suspicions were correct. Thirty percent of
us said that we feel like our home has to look better than
usual before a new friend comes over. Sixty-eight percent
said that we at least vacuum and make sure that most things
are in order. Thankfully, only 5% of us are joining in with
me, dusting every nook and cranny, and only 4% of us have
the laptop open on the kitchen table, searching for snacks
on MarthStewart.com! Well, ladies who are out there & just
like me, we don’t need to be this way.
As
life gets busier with more children, more ministry
responsibilities, etc., we who have these high expectations
of ourselves have to let something go—and it will either be
the home, or the fellowship in it. Hebrews 10:5 says “Let
us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of
doing, but let us encourage one another—and even more as you
see the Day approaching.”
Would you like some encouragement ladies? Seventy-nine
percent of us said that we are incredibly delighted to be
invited over to a new friend’s home, and 66% of us said that
we are willing to bring a snack. We didn’t tend to care
about the other person’s home, and none of us are critical
about dust, perfectly delicate snacks, or toys (or bottles!)
under the couch. What does this mean for all of us? We’re
wasting a lot of time feeling like we have to get tasks done
(like Martha) when what we really ought to do is spend time
fellowshipping with other believers in His name (like
Mary). Honestly, I’m sure that there is a whole lot of
ministering that could be going on that isn’t, because we’re
all so caught up in our homes looking perfect.
One
more thought on this—I believe this is a vicious cycle. One
mom feels she has to have her house perfectly clean, so she
cleans it, has people over, and then the mom who comes over
sees how clean the other mom’s house is and then feels that
she has to have her house perfectly clean as well.
It goes on and on. So we have to stop putting up a façade
and get REAL, and guess what? I have a feeling we’ll all be
incredibly blessed by it.
