A Woman's Place
The media outlets featured an early foray into activism by the Duchess of Sussex, then a ten-ish year old Meghan Markle. She called out a company for advertising dish soap to women. The company in question acquiesced and changed its campaign language to "millions of people."
Fair point: women aren't the only ones who wash dishes. In fact, humans aren't the only ones who use dish soap either. One brand advertises that its users include needy marine life.
I have an uneasy relationship with "Activism". It seems too close to "lobbyist." Moreover, it seems synonymous with "busybody." I do fervently believe in being active and actively useful. Maybe some might deem "useful" as demeaning but I would retort: not nearly as demeaning as use-less. But I should hope that one's activity would result in the noise of industry and not the noise of scolding.
At any rate, that's an aside and I know that the Duchess intends, with all of her soul, to be useful. She has now attained the ultimate platform for humanitarian work. And she need not ever step into a kitchen or wash dishes unless she wishes to. I don't think she looks down on washing dishes either.
I actually don't believe in strict gender roles. Although 1 Timothy advises older women to help younger women be "keepers at home" and love their husbands and children, I don't think that's the same thing as saying a woman's place is in the home. It may be her priority, or orientation -- just compare the apartments of most single men and most single women. But a look at Proverbs 31 -- or the Lady Wisdom in the rest of Proverbs -- she's all over the place: the market, the fields, or even haunting wayward youth in the streets.
I approach housekeeping the way my husband approaches his coding, tinkering and adjusting over and over to make it looking its best. And housekeeping isn't easy. It is easy to do badly. I much prefer it to the data crunching that I used to do and I don't have a whimsical totalitarian boss over me. I've watched my mom struggle (over several moves) to make her house serve her instead of continually serving the house. My mother-in-law has made her home a work of art over the course of several years and a very small budget. My friend Deby turned a tiny home into a delightful, homy space and has continued to keep its charm as established finances have allowed her to expand it. I hope to combine whatever I can learn from them to make a refuge as inspiring and comforting. But that all takes more than mere housekeeping.
The Biblical word helpmeet appeals to me. I think it's a connotation of collaborating at the front lines side by side. It makes my heart surge. Really, I would love to work beside my husband, although his skills and mine differ violently. (He's an electrical engineer and I'm a classical humanities major.) Right now being at home allows me to share in his work to certain extent. Now with a son, his work is not just engineering, it's also fathering. My son is at a point when he wants his father's eyes every moment. So I will not try for that secretary job although my husband's branch needs one badly. So we are working side-by-side, just not necessarily in the same location.
A woman's place is serving God. That may take her to Africa like Lilias Trotter, to China like Annie Armstrong, to India like Amy Carmichael, to the jungles like Elizabeth Elliot, to mountains of Switzerland like Edith Schaeffer, or to the tables groaning with bread and beer and elbows with lively debate like the remarkable Katie Luther. Deborah and Jael both fought in the same battle: one from the frontlines, one in the tents. Right now serving God means I'm here. I dearly hope it takes me all kinds of places someday.
Fair point: women aren't the only ones who wash dishes. In fact, humans aren't the only ones who use dish soap either. One brand advertises that its users include needy marine life.
I have an uneasy relationship with "Activism". It seems too close to "lobbyist." Moreover, it seems synonymous with "busybody." I do fervently believe in being active and actively useful. Maybe some might deem "useful" as demeaning but I would retort: not nearly as demeaning as use-less. But I should hope that one's activity would result in the noise of industry and not the noise of scolding.
At any rate, that's an aside and I know that the Duchess intends, with all of her soul, to be useful. She has now attained the ultimate platform for humanitarian work. And she need not ever step into a kitchen or wash dishes unless she wishes to. I don't think she looks down on washing dishes either.
I actually don't believe in strict gender roles. Although 1 Timothy advises older women to help younger women be "keepers at home" and love their husbands and children, I don't think that's the same thing as saying a woman's place is in the home. It may be her priority, or orientation -- just compare the apartments of most single men and most single women. But a look at Proverbs 31 -- or the Lady Wisdom in the rest of Proverbs -- she's all over the place: the market, the fields, or even haunting wayward youth in the streets.
I approach housekeeping the way my husband approaches his coding, tinkering and adjusting over and over to make it looking its best. And housekeeping isn't easy. It is easy to do badly. I much prefer it to the data crunching that I used to do and I don't have a whimsical totalitarian boss over me. I've watched my mom struggle (over several moves) to make her house serve her instead of continually serving the house. My mother-in-law has made her home a work of art over the course of several years and a very small budget. My friend Deby turned a tiny home into a delightful, homy space and has continued to keep its charm as established finances have allowed her to expand it. I hope to combine whatever I can learn from them to make a refuge as inspiring and comforting. But that all takes more than mere housekeeping.
The Biblical word helpmeet appeals to me. I think it's a connotation of collaborating at the front lines side by side. It makes my heart surge. Really, I would love to work beside my husband, although his skills and mine differ violently. (He's an electrical engineer and I'm a classical humanities major.) Right now being at home allows me to share in his work to certain extent. Now with a son, his work is not just engineering, it's also fathering. My son is at a point when he wants his father's eyes every moment. So I will not try for that secretary job although my husband's branch needs one badly. So we are working side-by-side, just not necessarily in the same location.
A woman's place is serving God. That may take her to Africa like Lilias Trotter, to China like Annie Armstrong, to India like Amy Carmichael, to the jungles like Elizabeth Elliot, to mountains of Switzerland like Edith Schaeffer, or to the tables groaning with bread and beer and elbows with lively debate like the remarkable Katie Luther. Deborah and Jael both fought in the same battle: one from the frontlines, one in the tents. Right now serving God means I'm here. I dearly hope it takes me all kinds of places someday.
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