Thursday, January 14, 2010

Staying in the Garden


At Home
by Jules LeBlanc Stewart 1889

If you read the historical account of Adam and Eve in the book of Genesis, you will see some similar situations today. One in particular was the wealth that the first couple had, in the Garden of Eden.  There was gold, and other precious metals and stones. They were well-provided for. They could have anything to eat in the garden, except for the fruit of one tree, the tree of knowledge of good and evil.   In that garden also stood the Tree of Life.

Like the rest of us, it is easy to get distracted. When the serpent, who was described as subtil, offered Eve the forbidden fruit, it seems that in that instant she failed to look around her and see all that she had , and desired the one thing she didnt have.  Taking the thing that was forbidden to her, caused her to lose her home and all the things that God had provided for her. She caused her husband to lose his home, too.

Sometimes young people, who have more than the average person had a hundred years ago, but who live with parents who wisely deny them the things that are harmful to them, get to looking at all the other young people in the world around them, who are allowed to stay up all night and party, or have unlimited spending money, or have no restrictions on their freedom, and envy them. When they insist on participating in the forbidden life, these young people forget to look around and see what they are risking. Sometimes they succeed in losing their own home, because of their insistance on taking things that are forbidden to them.

Women at home have to be careful not to risk losing what they do have, by desiring things they do not have. If you are a homemaker, and spend most of your time in the home, who is going to notice that you do not own an expensive, labelled bag, have your hair waxed or streaked at an expensive salon, or are wearing fake nails?  Wanting the latest trendy shoes and the newest jacket may cost you your home life. Desiring these expensive things could mean giving up your freedom to be at home to look after your husband or teach your own children. It could mean that you have to seek employment, which will take up all your time away from homemaking. Some women dont realize that they could be losing more than they get, when they desire something that is not necessary.

 Because Adam and Eve had everything they needed in the garden, they did not need what the serpent offered them, but they saw that it was pleasing to look at and they wanted it.  If you are ever tempted to have the things that working women seem to have, just look around and see what you might lose.  It isnt worth it.  Those bags, jewels and hairstyles will be completely different next year. You can never keep up with the trends. They keep changing, just to keep you spending and keep the designers rich. 

Look at the story in Genesis chapters 2 and 3 and notice a few things:

Number one, the pair lost their home, where everything was provided for them. All they had to do was the upkeep of the garden. They did not even get to keep the forbidden fruit.

Number two, life became harder for them. They had to work harder, and the womans sorrow was multiplied.

This is worth keeping in mind when you want something that will cost you your home life. You will have to work doubly hard for it. You will lose the home life you have, and as you lose control of your children and your home, your sorrow will be multiplied.

Remember Eve: she had everything, but desired the one thing she could not have. Children are like that, too. They can have a room full of toys but if they know you have put one special toy away, that is the one they will want. Women have to grow beyond wanting the few things they cannot have, and look around at all they do have, and try to protect it.



18 comments:

Anonymous said...

I truly appreciate this post. It is an important reminder.

It is funny you mention the sreaked hair, fake nails and so on because women don't seem to realize how much these things add up. My hair is a nice natural color without any gray at nearly 40 but my hairdresser has suggested a costly coloring procedure that would need to be repeated every three months "to give it highlights and lowlights". It sounds so exotic, I almost went ahead with it until I figured out the cost of upkeep. Same goes for fake nails and contact lenses. I switched to a nice classic pair of designer frame glasses for under $250 when I figured out that my contact lenses and solutions were costing me $1,000 a year! Not only do the glasses save me thousands, I see better out of them.

What may seem to be a treat at first adds up to a whole lot when you consider the costs in the long run. Homemakers can always find ways to cut costs.

Anonymous said...

I just came across your blog the other day and have been so encouraged by it. I am a single mother (not by my choice) who is trying to stay at home and home educate my children while living on a very small budget. Lately I have been considering trying to find outside work to help pay bills but after reading your blog, I'm going to continue on at home and pray for God's wisdom to make what we have stretch farther (with a miracle or two perhaps). Thank you for your life giving words. I especially appreciated your list of 30 things for a homemaker to be doing. While I do many of them regularly, there is always room for improvement. :)

Anonymous said...

So true. And we all need to be reminded once in a while.

Anonymous said...

A timely reminder, well said.

Anonymous said...

Great post!!!
Some great words of wisdom to ponder and apply to our lives.
Blessings ,
Julie

Unknown said...

Nice post. We cannot buy back the time we lose with our children if we are away all day. The time spent at home is priceless. Soon enough the young-ins are grown and gone. Even single mommas can do it.
www.singlehomeschoolingmommas.com

Anonymous said...

This was really good. Ah, yes, the upkeep for all this fancy stuff. Most of it can be done by ourselves at home, like nail care. You can learn to do your own manicures and polish them yourself.

I used to color my hair, but when the doctor put me on thyroid meds, it made my hair grow a mile a minure and I couldn't keep up with it. I needed to color it every two weeks, and even though I colored it myself at home with the cheap stuff, the cost amounted up. Plus, it was time consuming and didn't seem healthful to color every two weeks, so, gulp, I stopped!

And you know what? My hair is a lovely salt-and-pepper. It matches my skin tone like no store-bought color ever did. I have let it grow longer and take care of it and keep it clean with a nice blow-dry. I'm so glad I allowed it to go back to its natural state.

I was able to stop taking the prescription meds for the thyroid, when I felt better, going to kelp from the drug store ($4 or $5 for a big bottle). My thyroid checks out as normal at the doctor's office (I told them I wasn't taking the prescription meds any more and have their approval).

Know what? With the kelp (one per day, or whenever I remember it), my hair still grows very rapidly!

I would encourage women to let your hair go gray and see if you like it. You might be surprised. If you don't like it, you can always color it again.

Anonymous said...

Wonderful article, Lydia! I'm not willing to be put in debt just to have things that has mostly everyone else in debt, too! It can be hard when you see other homemakers who DO have new clothes, hairdos, nails, etc., but this is a great reminder not to look at them and lose your own home in pursuit of those things.

Primrose Hill said...

thank you

Primrose Hill said...

where can i find the "30 things" another commented about?

Anonymous said...

Funny but the two most beautiful women I have seen were not fancy dressed at all or ravingly beautiful. One was a lady coming towards me in a store. She had a shirtwaist dress on that buttoned down the front with tiny buttons and belted at the waist. It had a small print with 3/4 sleeves in a spring color and well below her knees in length. Her natural colored hair was combed back and fastened with two pretty hair combs. She looked so feminine I could not take my eyes off of her. The other was a much older women in a bank line. She too had natural long hair but her's was almost white. She wore a well fittting but loose jumper and femine blouse under it. She had on Mary Jane shoes. They both had beautiful posture, well groomed and no masculine airs about them. They were so neat and feminine in their walk and talk. Naturally feminine. Just as God intended. They made a great impact on me and from then on I decided to not follow trends but to stick to the basics and keep well groomed and watch how I presented myself so as to look like a lady at all times. Like the lady said in another comment area she keeps very well groomed but does it herself. The working mothers admire her and notice. She feels she represents our way of life as stay at home wives and wants to show the best. We are to be an example of what other women should want to be and show them also to Christ.

Anonymous said...

Thanks Lydia for this convicting reminder to be content with what we have and where we are....
L.

Anonymous said...

Thank you for this post.

I think that being well groomed has a great deal to do with presenting an attractive image. We homemakers can do that without breaking the bank.

My problem is that my hair is very dark, almost black and is now (I'm almost 47) starting to show pure white strands at the front. I get a little embarrassed by this but dislike the idea of colouring it. There is no way I would seek employment so I could 'afford' to have professional treatments done. Any suggestions? My hair is also very wavy and past my shoulders, a fringe just looks unruly so I have my hair brushed back.

Sonya

Anonymous said...

Excellent post.

I also notice that there are a few glaring things that families around me with two incomes seem to have, that those with one income do not. The most glaring one is big vacations. They will most definitely take a big trip in the summer somewhere, and some of them even take another trip in the winter as they seek some sun and beach. The families with only one income will usually just take one trip by car somewhere close, or even just day trips.

Another are new cars. Even though we all live in relatively the same type of house, those families with two incomes seem to drive newer and flashier cars, while those where the woman stays home will tend to make due with older cars.

That is only what I see around me, I know that it varies according to where you live. But it's an interesting thing to take notice of.

~ Ann

Anonymous said...

Great post, Lydia! This comment is for Sonya at 10:45p.m. I,too have dark brown hair, very wavy, and white hairs coming in the front. I use a color stick that I picked up at Ulta3 (I don't know if you have this store in your area.) I do color my hair at home about once every 3 months, but the color stick helps me to go longer between colorings...I hope this helps! God Bless

Anonymous said...

Thank you to the anonymous poster at 5.18 pm responding to my query about hair colouring. I think I have seen colouring sticks here in Australia. I will check them out.

Kind regards,
Sonya

Anonymous said...

I totally agree with this. I do have a question: what if you are living as frugally as possible but your husband loses his job or does not earn much? What if he insists his wife goes to work?

Anonymous said...

To the ones who asked about hair care: In summer, a lemon or vinegar rinse and drying hair in the sun, gives desired streaks. I personally cannot understand the status of it, for there was a time when the poor people had all the streaks, because they were out working the fields, in the sun. The unstreaked hair was a sign of a woman who was not outside very much. Now, the women who have never had to work outside, want tans and streaked hair. In a few years it will all be out of date and one color will be back.