God Bless Workin' Women

I mean godly women, godly wives and godly mothers . . .

What a rude question to ask a virtuous woman . . .

"Do you work?"

If she were not so virtuous, she'd say, "Darn right I work . . . " (Sorry, Ladies, forgive the mild expletive) . . .

Workin' women, godly Wives and Mothers, WORK, whether "in" the home or "outside" the home (remember that godly, workin' women who work "outside" the home most probably do most of the work "in" the home as well) . . .

Workin' women . . .

I've always admired that in my Grandmother, my Mother, and own Wife, but now so much more . . .

My Grandmother and Mother no longer work . . . they're at rest . . . my wife no longer works . . . she must rest . . .

So Mama Parker, Mother (her dignified persona quietly demanded "Mother"), and Judy, shall we say, "heightened my appreciation" for workin' women . . .

I've seen Mama Parker in a bonnet on many a warm Mississippi morning come in from workin' the garden, smelling of sweet sweat, while she made biscuits from scratch . . .

Mother worked outside the home while my dad was a pastor, and exclusively inside the home during his evangelistic career . . . wonder why, in both cases?

Judy worked as a teacher and administrator when our boys were school age . . . and she worked as a wife and mother during all that time, cooking the food, keeping the house, paying the bills, etc., etc. . . . But now that she can't work, even inside the home, I have an intensified taste of "housework" . . .

The kitchen itself is almost full-time job . . . even for just two . . . breakfast, lunch, and dinner . . . thinking about the meal . . . what she (they) will like . . . what she (they) will not like . . . then getting the stuff out of the cabinets and the fridge, putting it in the pans, cooking it, serving it, cleaning it up . . . learning that "NO" on the 409 nozzle does not mean "NO" but rather than your have the bottle upside down, and now you understand FFO . . .

Thank God for dishwashers . . . putting the forks all in one place so that you don't stab yourself . . . Is that mundane and meaningless? . . . putting the forks in the right place? . . . No, it's a noble task, kissed by heaven . . .

What could be more sacred than being a godly mother and wife? Who can find a virtuous woman? . . . Gentlemen, thank God Almighty if you have found one . . . don't undervalue that rare ruby . . .

I asked Judy this week, "How do mothers with little children do it?"

They must be magic.

Chances are, in fact the truth is, the typical workin' woman has done more work than her hunter-gatherer husband during a typical day: the mental, physical, and emotional exertion and stress of overseeing the kitchen, keeping the house clean, and tending the kids: their learning, their correction, their emotional needs, their snotty noses, maybe her own job outside the home . . . What about taking care of herself?

Every husband should help his wife daily in household chores, and if he can afford it, he ought to get his wife additional domestic support, especially if she works outside the home; if you can't afford it, then you should remember that, whether she works both outside and inside or only inside the home, she has probably done more work than you today, and more important work as well . . . so take her out to eat, or at least bring home some KFC . . . pick your sox up, and vacuum once in a while, and dust, and do the wash, and fold the towels (in the right way), and put them up where they belong, and make the bed, and mop, and shop . . . I'm talkin' to the men here . . .

God bless workin' women . . . alchemists they must be, for but the gentle touch of their stong hands transforms everyday domesticities into the golden merchandise of heaven; and King's daughters one and all, their sacred brows aflame with Faith, Hope, and Love as a princess with a diadem adorned.

God bless workin' women; if it weren't for them, all we men would be slouchy, sloppy bachelors like my son who recently said, "Dad, if you'll just fill that chili bowl with water and leave it in the sink, it'll come off easily tomorrow, no problem . . . "

Yeah, right, and who'll rinse it off, and wipe it off, tomorrow?

One of those workin' women, no doubt . . .