Coming Home: Thoughts for the Working Woman with a Heart for Home

Over the years, I’ve heard from working women who would love to be home; some would love to homeschool, but they, or perhaps their husbands, aren’t sure they can afford living on one income. Read what Jennie Chancey has to say:

“Perhaps you’re one of the 80% of women who would like nothing better than to quit your job and go back home, whether or not you have children. Perhaps you’ve dreamed of leaving it all behind to go home and make “home” the place you long for it to be. But, practically speaking, you just don’t see how it can be done.

We don’t live in a one-income economy any longer (thanks to years of feminist policies – see Forced Labor by Brian Robertson for a thorough expose’ of this fact). Maybe your husband is convinced your family cannot make it without your salary. This section is here for you. Here you will find articles, links and tips to show you how you can go back home…without losing your mind or convincing others you have!”

Click on the following link to find a page chock-full of helpful articles and links on how to move toward home and get out of the two-income trap: Beautiful Womanhood.

Being a full time homemaker allows Christian women to fulfill many satisfying and biblical roles. A home-making woman:

1. Is available to her husband whenever he needs her.

2. Is able to keep a schedule, have dinner ready on time for her family, and doesn’t have to rely on others to raise her children.

3. Is able to train and homeschool her own children.

4. Can influence and enrich her children’s lives by being there to exemplify Christ all day – on a daily basis.

5. Is home to witness her baby’s “first smile,” “first steps,” “first word.”

6. Is free to make her house a home – and keep it that way.

7. Is available to care for the sick or aging in her family, church, and community.

8. Is available to teach and minister to the younger women in the church during a working woman’s “working hours.”

9. Is free to take meals to new moms, sick families, or the elderly.

Disclaimer: I realize plenty of working women manage to do many of these things at times, but their time (and energy) is severely limited. Someone outside the household (their boss) “owns” much of their time; therefore, a working woman is not as free to minister to her family or the church as a homemaking woman.

Often, by the time the working woman makes it home, she is exhausted and depleted. She then prepares dinner, bathes children, cleans the house, and collapses. Her boss gets the hours where she is fresh, energetic, and cheerful. Her family gets the “left over” energy she has at the end of the day.

I recall a friend telling me once, after collapsing in a chair at the end of her very long work day, “I need a wife.” She wasn’t referring to sexual orientation, she was reflecting on the fact that she was being required to fulfill two roles – the breadwinner and the bread baker – and she was exhausted and overwhelmed.

If you’re in this position and are interested in researching your options, here are some “frugal living” websites and resources that Jennie recommends:

Financial Management

The Two Income Trap (A book review)

And a here’s a few more resources…

Living on One Income with Husband in School

Home Business Ideas

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