Marriage, motherhood and home…truly a
balancing act.
Every wise woman builds her house but the
foolish one tears it down with her own hands. I think
the wise wife and mother realizes that the whole family
hinges on a good marriage. I think God, husband,
children, home and church is a biblical approach to
prioritizing who comes first in your life. And as many a
woman whose children have flown the nest will testify-
if you haven't nurtured your marriage during the
childrearing years, you may very well end up being
married to a stranger! The sad fact is that we all grow
and change throughout the years, so it is imperative
that a wife make her husband number one during those
years of child raising and keep her marriage alive and
the intimacy (both physical and spiritual), fresh.
Women who have devoted all their
attention to their children and neglected their marriage
can feel lost (even suicidal) when that focus is gone.
And if it is further complicated by an empty marriage
(shudder) A well-loved and respected husband usually
makes a better and more confident father. I think that
if the husband is shown love and respect on a regular
basis then he will not feel neglected when his wife has
to look to the needs of his children before his own.
Most men will not over react when their needs are
temporarily put on hold whilst a baby is in need of
feeding or changing or the children are fighting or in
need of discipline or whatever. By making your husband
number one after God, I believe it enhances a marriage
and that in turn brings greater team-work in raising
children. There are obviously times when our children's
needs are more pressing than our husband's, but if the
wise woman has built her man up, and he knows he is King
of his castle and has her heart, he usually understands
that he may have to take a temporary back seat in her
attentions.
If the wife has torn her house down with
neglecting her husband, being constantly unavailable or
unaffectionate etc then it is highly likely that he will
feel that he is not very important in her sight. He may
even become bothered with feelings of guilt because he
has jealous feelings towards his own children. The whole
business of child raising, marriage and homemaking is a
balancing act which requires wisdom and prayer- and
organization. I do feel too that sometimes children
today are made a little too much of and I fear that we
will reap the consequences of this in our own lives and
in the next generation of adults. Balance is the key, I
feel.
The wise woman will build her house by
building up her husband, building her children up enough
to make them confident adults but never to become the
masters of the home. This is tearing your house down
with your own hands. Build your home by seeking God's
divine order- Him, husband, children, house then church.
By doing this, you will have a happy home and family and
will be serving God as He purposes it. And you will reap
the reward of a happy enduring marriage and well
adjusted children.
Glenys Robyn Hicks
‘Many
daughters have done well, but you excel them all”
Proverbs 31:29
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