Just a Homemaker Apologist

I’m just a homemaker… and an apologist (that comes later).

Homemaking has lost respect. It used to be valued back when times were simpler. Moms stayed home with their kids, and the neighborhoods were full of children who came home from school and played together in the afternoon. They weren’t carted off to some sports practice or music lesson or Karate. They just played together – outside mostly. And moms chatted, sharing parenting tips and swapping recipes. Yeah, I know. Not everyone is cut out for that kind of lifestyle, and women needed to have other options. 

Options are cool. I like options. Matter of fact, I took advantage of those options and had a career outside of the home myself. Got a journalism degree. Became a reporter. (Forgot all those grammar rules, as you can see by reading this blog.) Then got into public relations for a local non-profit hospital. Life was good. I was well respected. And then I had a baby.

It’s a long story how I ended up leaving my career. Much longer than I guess you care to read in this short blog. Suffice it to say, circumstances forced me out of my career. A move from paradise to the Midwest ensued. My life looked completely different from what I had envisioned for it. 

My mom used to tell me, “Never rely on a man.” It was the height of the feminism movement when I was growing up. Gals were burning their bras, going to “swing parties,” and breaking all kinds of rules. It was a rebellion against the box that men had kept women in for far too long. That box not only was broken but put into the recycling bin to come out the other side radically altered.

So, I never wanted to rely on a man, until I met the perfect Man. His name is Jesus, and He captured my heart. I followed His ways, which are not of this world. I laid my life down in humble service to Him by serving my family. 

I am blessed with a husband who could support us modestly in the Midwest, and we began to raise our family here; some would say it’s an area that is more family oriented.

I went from California where regularly you’d see Porches and Mercedes, to minivan and Ford pick-up trucks. It was cheaper out here. We actually could afford a decent home and date nights again. Life rearing children began.

Now my children are mostly grown; one gone and another getting close. What is a homemaker then to do? 

Everyone says go with what you love the most. I love Jesus the most, so I decided to go there. I went back to school and earned an AA in Christian studies. Attending the ceremony wasn’t something I planned to do, but at the urgency of my professor, I did. Dragged my whole family with me. It was when the professors were praying over the graduates that I sensed God asking me to serve Him in a new way. This time in the ministry. 

That call was challenging. I have friends in the ministry and frankly, it’s one of the hardest calls you can get. Sheep bite. People place too many expectations on ministers; they often never meet those expectations. Put us on a pedestal and will we fall. No person should ever be exalted; only One deserves that position.

I prayed about more education, as I felt called into the deeper knowledge of God. I learned about Biola’s apologetics grad program, and I applied. I was accepted by the grace of God. 

That took four years, going part time. I learned so much! Now I call myself a Christian Apologist, and that usually takes at least a few minutes to explain that I am not really sorry. Same old joke. 

As an apologist, I haven’t landed any book deals, haven’t spoken at any large venues, and don’t have thousands of followers on my blog. It’s another humbling experience. But I know one thing – every day, I ask God if I am pleasing Him. “Am I doing what you want of me, oh Lord?” Trying not to look around at those who appear to be climbing up the apologist ladder, I first must remember why I followed the call – my first love. 

Am I pleasing you today, oh Lord? 

Right now, I am cleaning the house and doing laundry. Getting ready for the Thanksgiving guests soon to arrive. It’s not life changing. It’s not career making. It’s simply making a space for those I love to make them feel comfortable, happy and thankful. May they sense the peace in the home that I make. 

May we all sense the peace in the home God makes within our hearts, as we look to Him to see that it is He we seek to please.

Happy Thanksgiving.