Homesteading: A Woman's Journey

Our lifestyle under attack

Being a Conservative Christian woman, I am finding to be very enlightening both in a good and bad way.  It amazes me how many times in the past year I have had to defend myself and my husband to those who don't understand how we live.

There are those who feel that if you are a Conservative Christian who follows the precept of submission (headship), then you must be an abused, controlled, and oppressed woman.  They take it further that the husband must be some type of tyrant who is controlling and abusing his wife & children.  This saddens me to the very core of my being.  Just the idea of a Conservative Christian husband being thought of in such a negetive light proves to me how little is known about what the God-given roles of the husband and wife really are.

A wife is the helpmeet of her husband.  She helps and supports him in his responsibilities.  The husband has so very much on his shoulders.  He is the provider, the protector, and also has responsibility to see to the spiritual teachings of his family.  As his helpmeet, the wife assists him in these areas. 

If a man is abusive or controlling, he is not following the guidelines given in the Bible that teach how a husband should treat his wife.  A man is to "love his wife even as Christ loves the church" (Ephesians 5:25).   Christ showed his love for the church by serving the church.  He helped those who were in need, gave comfort, provided food to the hungry, and ultimately, He gave His very life for the church.  Where in this did Christ treat the church with abuse or oppressive dictates?  Nowhere!  If a man follows the example given by Christ, he treats the family with love.  He provides for them, teaches & counsels them, and protects them.

A wife is the nurturer in the family.  She raises the children, teaches them, cares for them, she looks after the home, and she does what she can to help lighten the burdens on her husband's shoulders.

If you look at Proverbs 31, you will read about a women whom many Christian wimen see as the "ideal" woman.  In that passage, King Lemuel's mother was describing to him the type of woman whom he should seek.  The Proverbs 31 woman wasn't a controlled, oppressed woman.  She was very industrious.  She looked after the needs of her family & household, she worked making linens and sold them to the merchants, she bought land, was charitable to those in need, she had wisdom and she behaved in a manner which made her husband proud. 

I love being a homemaker, looking after our daughter and working on our homestead. The dreams that we have of Joe being able to leave truck driving and work from home is one that Joe and I both share.  He sacrifices so much to help make this dream a reality.  He is working a job that has him on the road for a month at a time.  It is very difficult on him to be away, just as it is on us for him to be gone.  But, we know that the day will come when he can stay home.

We are working as a team. Just as any married couple should be, we are working together to meet the goals we have for our family.  Joe's job provides the income & the means for us to be able to financially reach our goals.  My task is to look after things here and to prepare for the time Joe can be home permanently.  Sometimes. the Lord stretches & grows us through trial, whether it be financial, physical, or emotional.  But in the end, we know that the Lord is in charge and if we continue to have faith, the Lord will help us through.

The work that I do here is something I truly enjoy.  I grew up around farming, having a few farm animals as a kid, and raising a garden.  I learned from those experiences how to care for the livestock, to garden, and many of the other homesteading skills that are so much of a blessing now.  I feel privileged to be given the opportunities to grow our own food and become self-sufficient.  I know that the work can be hard, but I also know that the harder I work right now, the sooner Joe will be able to leave the OTR trucking job behind.

I have had people verbally and through emails attack my lifestyle.  They see Joe as someone who goes off on the truck & having it easy, while I am slaving away at home.  Nothing could be further from the truth.  Joe gets exhausted with his job.  Long hours driving the truck, training a new driver, and having to be available to that student even if it means Joe's own sleep being interrupted.  He does this all with the added stress of not being with his family.  Our daughter & I are so very blessed to have a man in our life who takes seriously his God-given role of husband & father.

The work that I do here at home is so small compared to his sacrifices.  I have the benefit of being with our precious daughter.  I am able to watch her grow and learn new things.  I am so privileged to have the honor of making our homesteading dream a reality.  The work is paying off.  We have the start of a farm.  The animals are doing well and by next spring, we will have the 2nd generation of animals.  We are already looking to expand our gardens next year.  As I have mentioned before, I have 3 of them.  I have a small herb garden, a summer garden, and I have planted a fall crop.  Next year, I will add more varieties and double to number of plants that I put in the gardens.  These will provide the food we need for the summer, produce for home canning to provide for us until the following year's garden is producing, and it will also provide a source of income in the selling of surplus produce.

The livestock provides much.  Our goats will provide our milk, yogurt, cheese, and goat milk soap.  Once we have enough goats, we will be able to start using them also for meat.  The sheep will provide meat.  I may consider also shearing, cleaning and carding the wool so that I can sell it to crafters who spin their own yarns.  Our poultry provide eggs and meat.  Surplus eggs, just as the goat products are also a source of income.

If things continue as they have been going, Joe could leave the truck driving in as little as 3-5 years.  Once Joe is home, the workload on me will be very much lightened.  Joe enjoys helping me not only with the homestead, but he also helps with canning and anything else that needs done.  When he is home, he is very hands-on and works very hard to make my job easier, doing the heavy work that I have difficulty with during the month.  As I have said, we are working as a team.

Marriage is a partnership.  Sometimes the work load for each person is easier than others.  But in the end, you do what the Lord leads you to do no matter what the opinion of strangers or others.  Those who would attack our lifestyle & say that Joe is finding a convenient way to have it easy while I am left at home to work hard do not know us at all.  I am realising that they don't really want to know us.  They just are voicing opinions without the facts.  I can only hope that they do take the time to really read my blogs and even Joe's blogs to learn more about us before making such harsh judgements.  I doubt it will happen, but who knows.

Untitled Comment

06:58, Monday, June 18, 2007 .. Posted by borderling

We too are working towards a day when we can have my husband home and make a living off of our farm. My husband is a truck driver also, and has a new summer job that lets him come home most nights. PTL!. I am trying the farmers' market this summer to sell the extra produce I put in. We hope to eventually raise winter wheat and truck it to sale ourselves. We'll see what God has planned, but it's exciting to think we may be able to pull this off.
Nice to read your blog and meet you.
From Glory Farm,
Rhonda

Hang in there

09:39, Friday, June 22, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous

Paula,

I just found your blog and will be making it regular reading. Hang in there; I'm with you.

Judy at Tabletop Homestead
tabletophomestead.blogspot.com