I mentioned briefly the idea of “the heart of homemaking.” I like this phrase better than “goal” or “purpose” because those words limit their objects to utilitarian ends. Homemaking is an art, so it is more than a list of physical tasks to check off each day. It is beyond the realm of the purely utilitarian, workaday world. It takes heart, not merely strength and intelligence, to be a homemaker.
The heart of homemaking is creating a home for your family: a haven, a place of unconditional love and welcome. It is a continuing work of love and creativity.
Homemaking directly benefits your family by making your home a safe harbor, a place where they know that they are loved and cared for no matter what.
This is what makes homemaking so fulfilling. It’s why some women choose to continue in their roles as homemakers after the immediate necessity has passed. It’s what inspires others to see homemaking as the ultimate career.
Although there are many reasons to become a homemaker, they all eventually lead to this central goal of creating a home for your family. Loving and caring for your family is the ultimate purpose, the heart, of homemaking.
WORKING TOWARD THE GOAL
While the heart of homemaking is creating an intangible atmosphere of homeliness, there are physical, tangible aspects as well.
If you want your family to be able to relax and enjoy each other’s company in your home, then you need to maintain some level of order and cleanliness.
You will need to clean the bathroom, mop the floor, and wash the dishes. But remember, this does not reduce your role to housekeeper. A homemaker keeps her house clean and tidy as the basis of a welcoming home. She attends to the details of housekeeping while keeping a clear vision of the home she is creating.
If you keep in mind that the purpose of homemaking is to create a cheerful, welcoming home that is a haven for family and friends, then the individual tasks don’t seem distasteful anymore. Thus, cleaning the bathroom becomes less of a dreaded chore and more of a necessary means to the end that is a well-ordered home. When you think about it like this, each mundane task becomes an opportunity to love and serve your family.
It doesn’t matter that you will probably have to clean that very same bathroom hundreds or thousands of times over. You can still take delight in a job well done.