Martha Peace begins this section with this statement on page 71. "A godly wife is organized and works hard to operate her home with the least possible chaos. She also creates an optimistic, joyful atmosphere for her family." The home is your domain. Do you make it a place where your family can relax, let their guard down and escape from the trials and temptations of the world. Do they want to come home and be around you. Do you give them a soft place to fall? Is your delight in the Lord obvious to them. These are all good questions. Take some time with the Lord and answer them...it will change the atmosphere in your home.
Keeping a home where disorganization and chaos is at a minimum is IN THIS WORLD...most of the time a thankless job. It is the countless, boring, and repetitive tasks that we do day in and day out that are NEVER noticed until we slip up that keep a home running smoothly. If we are doing this for some kind of earthly reward or some kind of recognition from our families we will most likely wind up very bitter women. If however, our goal is to please the Lord and love our families than the result will be something completely different and it will be reflected in not only our demeanor but our families as well. To do this it helps me to remember why I am here and who I am serving. Sometimes I need to do this several times a day. Bitterness creeps in slowly... we need to be aware of it and be ruthless with it. If allowed to get a foothold it will destroy us, our Christian witness and our family. Sometimes I view my husband and my children as interruptions to my day...forgetting they are my reason for being here. I whine and complain about the work and the repetitive tasks that are never done and never appreciated. Hopefully somewhere in the middle of that tirade I will remember them...put myself in their place...how it must feel to be them and to be listening to me. Like the Bob Dylan song says: "I wish for just one time you could stand inside my shoes, then you'd know what a drag it is to see you. Hopefully at that point I would remember that the anger of man does not produce the righteousness of God. Or that a gentle and quiet spirit is very precious to the Lord...maybe I would recall 1Corinthians 13:4-8 and repent and put on some love for my family. This will happen more often than not if you are drawing near to the Lord each and every day and looking to Him to be your help and your wisdom. It will not if he is not first in your life....Yes it can be painful to draw near to God and see ourselves with all our dents, bruises and scrapes. Guess what...our family already knows they are there. We are only deceiving ourselves when we refuse to draw near and repent. Pride keeps us from getting right with God at times and being who we need to be for our families. Humility trumps!
Martha Peace has many exhortations on page 78: "Don't brood and fret and exaggerate problems in your mind. (psalm 37 is a good one to read about fretting) When there is a problem, be realistic. Face reality, but be righteously optimistic. For example, "This is hard, but God will give me the grace to get through it." Or another, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, and love your family almost as much. Be patient and kind and do not be selfish. (an aside on selfishness...if you are selfish...those around you will follow your lead and it will be war day in and day out at your house) Do not demand your rights (remember you have none anyway) and the others around you will eventually follow your example. Another statement by Martha Peace which really gives me a picture of a peaceful home is this: "A wife who has a gentle and meek spirit from the Lord provides a calming, soothing, and reassuring atmosphere in her home. She trusts God deeply and does not panic at difficult circumstances. She has a calming effect on the family, not the effect of alarming and upsetting them. It is reassuring to be around her. What a blessing for your family to have a wife or a mom that is calming, soothing and reassuring to be around. She is like Jesus!
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