Willing Hearts and Hands

I have alluded to this before, but it is something that I have been thinking about a lot lately. I am using extremes, but that is for emphasis. This is a generalization. 

That is: the pride with which the Albanian women care for their families and for their home. 

Perhaps I had a warped perspective in America, and I am only realizing that by being Albania. Or perhaps many in America do have a warped perspective that infiltrates the culture. So whether it is me, or American culture in general, I am not sure, but this is what has challenged me in the last 8 months: 

For an Albanian woman taking care of her family is her sole job. Many do take jobs outside of the home in order to support their family. But the goal is one and the same. 

Her mind is entirely wrapped up in this endeavor. 

Every single day she makes (from scratch) breakfast, lunch and dinner for her family. 

Every single day she sweeps and mops her entire house. 

Every single day she does laundry and hangs it out to dry. 

Every single day she shops for groceries and/or home goods. 

She doesn't have a dryer or a dishwasher. 

She does have a wood stove. 

In the fall, she cans fruit and vegetables to get them through the summer. 

Throughout the year, she sews, knits and weaves, rugs, clothes and doilies to give her daughter when she gets married. 

In the summer, she prepares for winter. 

Can you say Proverbs 31? 

And while this absolutely challenges me, there is something greater that has hit home. 

It is the attitude with which she does this. The pride, the joy, the determination. 

She does not view it as a burden.

She does not view it as something that must be done so that she can do the things she really wants to.

It is not a "sacrifice."

She views it as a calling, a mission and a privilege. 

She makes no excuses because she doesn't need to. 

Her home is always ready for guests. 

Her day is always full but she is never stressed by what needs to be done. 

Because she plans, she prepares, and she prioritizes.

And again. It is a calling, a mission and a privilege. 

This convicts me because sometimes I look at my home and the work it takes as a burden not as a joy. 

I think; I just washed this dish, I just mopped this floor, I just changed her diaper. 

More than that, it challenges me to strive to be better. 

To plan for the week better. To be more strategic about my shopping. To be efficient with my time. 

Not to be a perfectionist. Not to find my identity. 

But to do my job well as unto the Lord. 

I understand that every day is not perfection. Obviously. 

But it is the heart and mindset behind it. 

I am privileged to have a home to take care of. 

It is a joy to make meals for my family. 

And if I take pride in my home like these women do, I will naturally strive to be better. 

And ironically I have seen this in a godless culture. Biblical principals in a place where no one has a Bible. 

And of course I knew this, technically.

But it has been amazing and challenging to see it lived out in this way. 

Women's Bibles study last week