His Helpmeet

For the past week, I've been trying to be more of a "helpmeet" to my husband. My last two years at work have been tough on him. Actually, three years ago I was taking one online class and that took up more of my time than we expected. My poor hubby has had to do a lot of dishes and constantly ask, "If I was a pair of clean underwear, where would I be?"

I am very lucky that Eric has always been helpful around the house anyway and that he likes to grocery shop and loves to cook. (I detest grocery shopping, and he is better at finding the deals!) Now don't get too jealous.......I do have to point out to him what needs to be done. (Honey, have you noticed that the dog is shedding and our blue carpet is turning black?) However, my staff has been known to roll their eyes when I've brought in a lunch that Eric has packed for me.

Now that I'm off for the summer and my work load next school year will be less, I want to make things easier for him. I knew he was stressed each morning when I'd hear him sigh right before he'd start cleaning up the kitchen. (He works from home and makes his own schedule.) So right now I'm concentrating on being the one who cleans up the kitchen and having the laundry done and put away. I even emptied the trash can in his office this evening.

I am curious if he'll begin to notice what I'm doing. No, I'm not doing this for praise and thanks from him. I'm doing this to see if a lot of the high stress level within our family has been due to me working outside of the home. The extra money has been nice, but it's not worth the added stress and frustration.

God wants women to be helpers to their husbands. "The Lord God said, 'It is not good for the man to be alone. I will make a helper suitable for him.'" (Genesis 2:18) I know this isn't a popular idea in our culture. I don't always like it either. But you know what? Things always go much smoother when we follow God's plan rather than our own. When our families follow his design rather than the world's, there is more peace on the homefront. I guess that is what I'm seeking right now, and it is the purpose behind my little "experiment". I want our family to live according to God's plan, and I've realized that the person I must start with is myself.

So, hopefully and prayerfully I'm striving to be Eric's "helpmeet". I'll keep you posted throughout the summer on what God is doing in our family as a result of this!