As Goes the Home

    In the 1960s the ladies in our congregation attended the Associated Sewing Circle meetings held semi-annually. Women from the Lancaster Conference churches in the surrounding counties met in Lancaster County for these meetings. We would hear what was being done in the sewing circles and what the needs were in home and foreign missions. Inspirational talks and reports from various missions were given. I remember looking forward to these meetings because my pen pal from Adams County was usually there. I don't remember when the organization dissolved but I do know attendance declined until it wasn't worth having the meetings anymore.

    After I was married, I attended the Homebuilders meetings, also under the Lancaster Conference. The purpose of  Homebuilders was to encourage women in their careers as wives and mothers. I attended these inspirational meetings until we left Lancaster Conference for a more conservative group. 

    During the time I did volunteer work at the Lancaster Mennonite Historical Society, I was given the job of making a chart of all the organizations for women from 1975 to 1999. There were groups for Literature, Nursing,  Jr. Girls Activities, and others. The Jr. Girls Activities was consistent all the way through but other groups changed over the years. Some died out and new ones were started.

   It was interesting to see the year Homebuilders was dropped it was replaced with Business and Professional Women. It was soon followed by Credentialed Women and then Women in Leadership. The reason the Associated Sewing Circle and Homebuilders were dropped is rather obvious. Women went to work and were not homemakers or sewing anymore. They were too busy building careers to attend meetings for things that did not have priority in their lives.

     The world considers women working as normal and being a homemaker is an unfulfilled life. I beg to differ! Being a homemaker is the most fulfilling career a woman can have. God designed women to be nurturers and men to be leaders and protectors of women. Many of the problems in marriages today are caused by women who have stepped out of their place in God's order. Women who try to work full time and raise a family find the load is too heavy and they are spread too thin. A woman's place is in the home. A mother who puts her child in day care misses so much of their formative years that pass so quickly.

      I am thankful my daughter and all my daughters-in-law chose to be stay at home mothers. This does not mean they cannot do anything except cook and clean. There are many things women can do at home to earn a little money or help others, but the children need to know that Mom will be there to send them off to school and there when they come home. They will eat a home cooked meal and eat at the table as a family. They will read the Bible and pray together. Building a good home is a lot of work and cannot be done as a side job. 

     Look at the church today. Has replacing Homebuilders with Business and Professional Women improved our families, churches, or the world in which live?  "As goes the home, so goes the church, and so goes the nation."

Time of Renewal

     We are a week away from the first day of spring, but this week feels like spring is here. The snowdrops and crocus are in full bloom. Geese are flying north and a few robins already showed up. This week I used the wash line for the first time this year and we also saw 70 degrees for the first time. The farmers around us are busy spraying and hauling manure. Planting season is just around the corner.
  Spring is my favorite season. It is a time of revival, renewal, and promise. I am always amazed how quickly things turn green with a few days of sunshine and rain. Spring is known to throw us a few curves and dump some snow. But if that happens, we know it won't last long.

 Spring is invigorating and especially so this year. We have gone through one issue after another this winter, beginning with a trip to Boston for a wedding in November. Then I had hip replacement surgery a week before Thanksgiving. That was followed by weeks of therapy to build up the strength in that leg. I had a cold that dragged on for a month and later a sinus infection that lasted three weeks. Leroy's 101 year-old mother died in January which required a funeral and disposing of her things. That was barely over when our son was in the lot for minister. The week of suspense ended with one of the other nominees being ordained. After that, things finally started to settle down into a dull roar the middle of  February.

    We never know what a day will bring forth, but spring gives me hope and an energy boost. The puzzles are back in the box and the crochet hook is put away. The scrub bucket and window cleaner came out this week. I am fully recovered from my hip surgery and feel better than I have for years. This week I revived my habit of a daily walk I gave up four years ago. It is such a blessing to walk a mile without pain.  I'm looking forward to working outside again without an aching leg.

   And finally this weekend we can make the trip to Ohio to see our newest great-grandchild who was born the end of October. God is good and I am thankful we survived another winter with only speed bumps and no traumatic life-changing events.