So nice to be with you all again in this beautiful, beautiful verse.
We've been talking about loving our husbands. Today I'd like to talk
about loving our husband in our home. Our home is our haven. No one
can make a home "a home" like a woman can. She is the heart of the home
as Psalms 128:3 says:
"Your wife shall be like the fruitful vine in the very heart of your
house; your children like olive plants all around your table." This is
the blessing of everyone who fears the LORD and walks in His ways.
(128:1)
The wife is in the very heart of the house. Her heart beats for her home.
No one can replace this woman, because no one knows that man of hers
like she does or those children that she is working with day in and day
out. She is the fragrant oil that keeps everyone and everything running
smoothly. Therefore when her husband is away from the home working, she
is his representative. She is one with him and represents his authority
throughout the day. She is the manager of his children and his home
bearing much fruit (through her LORD's strength) which he realizes when
he sits at his table every night. This is God's blessing on him.
My husband grew up in a household rife with gambling, drinking, drugs,
and ugly language. Most nights he stayed outside to escape from his
father's anger stealing into a bed made on the floor of the living room
from the couch cushions. (He never had his own bedroom.) He doesn't
like to talk about his childhood, but the LORD reminds me of it often. So
when God gave this man to me, I decided I would do my best to make his
life with me the opposite of his childhood.
I have tried to make our bedroom the most attractive room in the house.
We have always lived on a budget, but I have enjoyed fixing up our
bedroom as attractive as possible from garage sales, swap meets, or
thrift shops. Our bedroom is the only room in our house decorated
Victorian as I find that to be so peaceful and slightly elegant. I have
stenciled the top of the room with dark greens, rose, and gold designs as
this is the design in our antique carpet covering the floor. Our queen
size bed has a rose covered feather blanket with the finest sheets (220
thread count and up) that money can buy at the thrift shop! A pink and
white dust ruffle runs around the bottom of the bed with the matching
covers on the pillows and an old baby's quilt laying in the middle. A
very beautiful old rose quilt (bought at swap meet for 50 cents) is on
the wall behind the bed. To the left of the room is a white wicker couch
and a white wicker chair covered with old pink and white blankets. (Both
of these were bought at a garage sale for $10.)
An old mannequin once used for sewing now stands in the corner by my
husband's dresser with an antique dress from the 40's on it and my
wedding hat on top. By my dresser is a rose antique vanity table adorned
with an antique bridal veil on the mirror and matching chair. On it I
have all kinds of feminine things including a gold hat stand with an old
pink hat. Nearby is a small tea table set up with all kinds of tea
things for evening tea. My window is covered in old pieces of lace
picked up here and there and fashioned together into a soft window frame.
Near the window is a very old box that hangs on the wall and houses a
miniature dress shop above an old general store with all the little parts
that go to it. ( I bought this at a thrift shop for $15. My children
love to look at it and move things around.) And lots of old hats,
gloves, hat boxes, and the like add to the flavor of the room.
When my husband and I go to our room at night, it is to the most
peaceful room in the house. It is like going to a mini retreat. We
often have soft music playing with soft lighting from the old lamps that
light up the room. There are lots of fluffy pillows to sit up and read
by with a basket of books next to each side of the bed. Many people need
to get away from their kids to a hotel. We only need to go to our
bedroom.
My daughter "sighs contentedly" when she comes into our room. She wants
her room to look like ours, so I have been working to make her room a
special retreat. (I wrote about it recently in the Titus 2 digest.) I
understand her feminine heart that will one day make her home a haven for
her husband and children. For as Shakespeare once said, "For where is
any author in the world teaches such beauty as the woman's eye?"
As women we have the pleasure of making our homes special havens for
those who live with us. I have worked very hard as my home was so
disorganized for years and my excuse was, "I am just not creative." This
was a sentence that preceded a lot of time being wasted and squashing my
teachability in the process. I now feel such joy in making my home as
peaceful as possible for my husband, especially in our bedroom. I have
not finished learning how to do that, rather I delight in everything the
LORD teaches me as He is The Creator and I am His Student. I must never
say I am not creative for I was created by The Creator and can learn so
much from following Him.
So nice chatting with you again.
Love,
Laine