One of our favorite types of broadcasts on "FamilyLife Today" is the "Mom Check" day. We call some stay-at-home mothers we know around the country and just ask how their day is going.I always enjoy asking these women how their houses look. A woman in Dallas with a new baby said, "Our bedroom's a disaster! Nicole's cradle is in there. The swing's in there. My desk has become a makeshift changing table. Diapers are all over. We've gotten 30 million gifts of girls' outfits, and the corners are filled with clothes."
We called my wife, Barbara, and she described the kitchen: "Oh, it's a mess, as always. Let's see, we still have blueberry muffins out. There are dishes in the sink and crumbs on the floor and laundry on the dining room table that I folded this morning. And a basket sitting on a chair that's mounded with ready-to-be-folded laundry."
Then there was Brenda, a friend in Portland. I loved her comment: "Our house is a wreck. The kitchen is filled with dirty dishes. But it's been a great day. My priorities have been in order."
Now, I know that many people look upon the wife and mother described in Proverbs 31 as some sort of "Super Woman" who never did anything wrong. But let me ask you this: Do you think her home was dirty at times? Do you think she always folded her laundry?
While this woman was praised-"She looks well to the ways of her household, and does not eat the bread of idleness" (v. 27)-she was not perfect. The way I see it, her praise was based not on the neatness of her household but on the priorities she lived by.
One of the great tragedies of recent decades is that too many people judge the performance of a "housewife" by the tidiness of her home. We need to be able to pull back and know what's important. You may have a floor that needs to be mopped or a refrigerator that needs to be cleaned. You may have kids with sniffles. It all feels like it's pressing in on you.
But 10-15 years from now, what is going to matter? What will your kids recall most about you?
Do you want to be remembered for the love you gave your children and the godly character you modeled for them?