From Joan A. Mac Donald and her book “The Holiness of Everyday Life”, Regarding “Work”:
What is a homemaker’s work, how can it be spiritually sustaining? The primary task of homemakers is parenting. Though often difficult and frustrating, parenting is itself deeply meaningful and profoundly spiritual. The second task of the is maintaining the house—housework. Housework is not usually thought of as inherently meaningful and, at least at first glance, it’s hardly spiritually sustaining. In fact, when it comes to living a spiritual life, housework just seems to get in the way. p.16
The Truth is Under Here Somewhere
So many times, I’ve set magnificent goals and dreamed magnificent dreams only to be stopped dead in my tracks by housework. I did it reluctantly and often found myself filled with resentment and anger. “Why do I have to clean this up?” I moaned. “I didn’t make this mess!” So often it seemed, everywhere I looked, I saw only clutter. I was defeated before I began. Even when I started my day with scripture and prayer, I would send the Spirit flying as soon as I started cleaning as started cleaning up. Where was the answer to my problem?
First, let’s define the problem more clearly. My problem was really a point of view. I was looking at the work before me and seeing several things: 1.The clutter, 2.The work and time to clean it up, 3.The unfairness that I would be cleaning it and not someone else (anyone—please). 4.Inadequacy: mine. 5.Carelessness: theirs. No wonder I felt bad! To solve the problem I had several options: 1.Leave home and become a hermit. Attractive choice, don’t you think! No—not practical . 2.Hire help. No—not money. 3.Buy a whip and crack over husband and children at frequent intervals. Now there’s a thought! 4. Change my viewpoint. What would that solve? Everything.
For some women, responsible modifications of 1, 2, and 3, are viable choices. For myself and for most other women, they are not. Putting aside feminist arguments and all the shoulds and oughts they imply, housework remains primarily the responsibility of women. This is particularly true for women who choose to be at home raising their children.
So I set about to change my viewpoint—easier said than done, no matter what the positive thinking books might lead us to believe. I had to go deeper than positive thinking. I had to change perceptions. To do that required more than positive thinking; to do that I needed understanding.
Years ago, in a college biochemistry course, I learned something important about myself. I learned how to learn. Before and exam, several students would gather to study together. While others struggled memorize and pathways, I seemed to have no problem. One night a fellow student, asked for my trick. After giving it some thought, I realized that I couldn’t “memorize” any better than anyone else. However, I loved figuring out the way things worked. I would study cycles and pathways, trying to understand what was going on and why. Once I understood, I remembered the details. I still learn that way. The answer to my homework problem was both simple and complex. As with biochemistry, it was easy to do once I understood. Also as with biochemistry, the struggle was in coming to an understanding. ~~~Joan A. Mac Donald and her book “The Holiness of Everyday Life”, Deseret Book, Salt Lake City, p.16—18 (continued)
