Christian Women should be Good House Cleaners

Hiring someone else to clean my house makes me feel guilty. It's the dumbest thing. I am a wife, a mom of 6 kiddos, 3 of whom are at home full time, my husband and I own and operate two businesses, we are both sports coaches depending on which season it is, I am a soccer referee, and I am also a personal trainer and a life coach. Oh, and we are helping to plant a new church in our community! This involves a lot of time, education, reading, and community projects where we serve other people who might need a little help. We love our life and we love all that we are creating, but it is a wicked lot! So, why does it feel wrong to hire someone to help me clean my house?!

I do not feel overwhelmed with my schedule on MOST days but the one thing that I HATE doing...I mean I dread and procrastinate as long as I possibly can...is cleaning the house. It's probably a good thing that we have a home church because it makes me vacuum up the dog hair that accumulates from 3 dogs and a cat and I finally mop up that spilled coffee that's been sticking to the floor for a week. You know, when you invite people over it forces you to clean. This is how it works. My kids do chores every morning, but with 5 people living in our home it never feels really clean. I can't even tell you how gross our bathroom is or that I have 3 baskets full of clean laundry sitting in our bedroom needing folding! Clearly, we need help.

This week I put it out there on Facebook. "Who cleans houses?! I need you!" A lady that we know answered my plea and she came and cleaned my house. It was awesome! She even dusted my tea pots?! Who does that?! She got my kids' bathtub so clean that I didn't even recognize it. She had a secret to cleaning tubs. What?! She did a really great job. I paid her to clean my house. My house is sanitized and lovely. I feel guilty.

I've been trying to process through this because I know it's stupid. When I lived in Okinawa everyone had a Mama-san, a lady who came in and cleaned their homes. Some of my friends even had mama-sans who cooked for them! Women around the world hire people to come in and clean for them. People who live in third world countries hire someone else to clean for them! WHY is it so hard for me to have someone else clean my house?

I think it's because it's admitting that I need help with something. I can't do everything well. If I have to pay someone else to clean my house then I have failed. I might even feel that I am failing God. Again, still processing this nonsense, but bear with me...I am a Christian woman, wife and mother. For a long time I really thought that being a stay at home mom who made sure her kiddos and her house were well kept and in order was being the woman that God called me to be. Clean kids and a clean house make for a happy husband and a happy God. Seriously. I'm not saying I was taught this, necessarily, I'm just saying that with all the Proverbs 31 woman stuff, and all the books about being a good wife and mom, it translated into- make sure your house is clean. A good house wife and a stay at home mom equals a good Christian. Now, here I am asking someone to come and clean my house for me. This feels like I am completely failing in my role as a Christian woman, wife and mom.

Even as I type this I cry for myself to have ever believed this to be true. God never said that women need to clean their houses well in order to be a good Christian or wife. He.Never.Says.That.

Hear me, please. I would not change anything about the years I spent at home as a stay at home mom. I raised 4 kids and I loved it. If I could choose that again I absolutely would be a stay at home mom and house wife. Also, if you have chosen that for yourself then I have nothing but respect for you. I really loved my time at home with my kids and wouldn't trade it for anything. But, it didn't make me a better Christian or more spiritual or more loved by God. God doesn't "call" us to be stay at home moms and wives. He calls us to live out loud for Him, to love Him and to love our neighbors. He calls us to tell others about Him in both word and by example. He calls us to take care of the widows and the orphans and the poor. He calls us to worship Him. And, while I loved being a stay at home mom who cleaned the house that was not God's calling on my life.

So, now, let me walk through the purging of my guilt over having someone else clean my house.

I am a wife, a mom of 6 kiddos, 3 of whom are at home full time, my husband and I own and operate two businesses, we are both sports coaches depending on which season it is, I am a soccer referee, and I am also a personal trainer and a life coach. Oh, and we are helping to plant a new church in our community! This involves a lot of time, education, reading, and community projects where we serve other people who might need a little help. We love our life and we love all that we are creating, but it is a wicked lot!

For these reasons and a million more, I am going to ask someone to come on over to my house and clean it for me every, single week and I am ok with that. I do not enjoy cleaning and I am ok with that. I need help with keeping my house clean and I am ok with that.

God doesn't require me to be a good housekeeper so that He can love me. This is a fallacy that I have brought on myself. I am no longer living under this misconstrued notion. I am not un-spiritual because I hate cleaning. I am a Christian woman called to living and loving loudly. This might involve cleaning sometimes, however, it is not my identity as a Christian woman. I am loved by God no matter what.

There. I feel better. Here's to living and loving with as little cleaning as possible :-D

Mark 12:30-31 - "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength... Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” (added by me- also, pay someone to clean your house for you so that you have time to love Me and to love others well)

James 1:26-27- "Anyone who sets himself up as “religious” by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world." (added by me - also, thinking that your house has to be clean so that you look like a good christian woman is hot air and religious. It's NOT what I'm asking of you. Let that go."

Galatians 5:1- "It is for freedom that Christ set you free. Stand firm then and do not get entangled again in a yoke of slavery." (added by me- I have set you free. FREE. There are no rules in Christianity. You cannot do anything to earn my love or make me love you more. I already love you as much as I will ever love, even if you have to pay someone to clean your house. Freedom means no strings attached. Nothing. Nada. Let the house stuff go and then be free to do all of this other wicked cool stuff that you are doing. Live life, love life and love Me!)