Homemaker vs Houseworker

Not too long ago I was asked my occupation.  I replied that I was a homemaker, but then noticed that he wrote down “houseworker”.  I quickly corrected him and he gave me a look like “lady, it’s the same thing”, but humored me by correcting it.

I have thought about how different the two terms really are!  Even the words “house” and “home” have different meanings.  I am not a worker that simply checks in to clean and work!  No, I’m a mother that is trying to create a home filled with love and memories.  I’m creating a place to retreat from the world.  I am helping to mentor and love those that dwell in my home.

This quote sums up a home to me-

“I believe that a godly home is a foretaste of heaven. Our homes, imperfect as they are, must be a haven from the chaos outside. They should be a reflection of our eternal home, where troubled souls find peace, weary hearts find rest, hungry bodies find refreshment, lonely pilgrims find communion, and wounded spirits find compassion.”
― Jani Ortlund

Yesterday I felt like a homemaker.  I had an apple cobbler baking in the oven for our dessert.

  I didn’t have to do Kindergarten carpool, so I busied around getting a lot done around the house.  Sheets were washed, floors were vacuumed, bathrooms were scrubbed, and little messes were picked up.

Then to top my day off, I sewed Ashley’s little scripture bag for her birthday tomorrow.  Cleaning, cooking, and sewing, I felt like a homemaker!

A house worker would not have had that extra love in sewing that bag just right late at night.  A housekeeper would not have smiled to herself at the thought of sweet bathed kids climbing into their fresh clean sheets.  No, it’s a homemaker that does those things.

Years ago I taught a lesson in Young Women’s about homemaking.  I remembered a little part of it and had to go back to glean over the job description.  Here it is:

Job Overview

1.  You will accomplish something worthwhile that can affect the happiness of those around you.

2.  You will help choose the working conditions and establish a pleasant atmosphere for others.

3.   You will help control expenditures.

4.   You will decide what work will be done, when it will be done, and how it will be done.

5.   You will enjoy being around everyone in the entire organization and will have the opportunity to bless their lives and help them accomplish great things.

Isn’t that list so true?!?!  We are in control of so many different aspects of our homes.  I truly feel that the influence of a homemaker is vast.  There are so many that our touched by what we do.

“The homemaker has the ultimate career. All other careers exist for one purpose only - and that is to support the ultimate career. ”
― C.S. Lewis

I will get off of my soap box now.  I was just really feeling and loving the fact that I am a homemaker.  SO young man that sneered at me, there IS a HUGE difference between the two, and I am a homemaker!