I have a beautiful clear memory of a warm autumn afternoon when my children were all young, and we were working as a family to "bring our harvest." We had a decent-sized garden that was very productive that year. I was sitting on our back porch step with my girls and husband, surrounded by pumpkins, gourds, and squash. We were laughing and chatting about nothing important, but we were enjoying being together. For one moment, my heart took a picture of that perfect love and happiness that we were all experiencing. 

As I brush pasted another memory of taking my girls down to their grandmas to clear out flower beds and wash windows. It was early spring, and we spent the day working hard. The flower beds looked great, and the windows sparkled, but the memory of working and talking with my daughters and mother will live forever in my heart. If you haven't caught the connection in these memories, it's the blessing of family work.

There was a time in the not-so-distant past that families worked together daily for survival. The fathers taught their children to work outside, plowing, planting seeds, and caring for the animals.  Mothers taught lessons of preserving and cooking food, clothing production, and keeping the home clean inside the house.  Working together was the point of survival then. Still, the closeness that was nurtured, teaching one another, and allowing everyone to contribute to the family's good was the actual harvest. This developed confidence in the children and a sense of who they are. It taught them the blessing of work.

Time goes by, and with-it, family work evolves with changes, inventions, and revolutions that make life easier. The family left the farm, and fathers went to work for ten hours a day.  A father's influence was far less in the home, and mom was left with the majority of home responsibilities and child care. Then moms were encouraged to leave home and go to work. Ideas that being a homemaker was too menial and raising children shouldn't be their goal in life. Education and career should be her path. What happens to the family? Are we seeing the results of making our lives easier? All the inventions ease household duties and jobs outside the home that pay more money. Are they all really worth it if we don't have the closeness of being a family? I believe women should have educations, but I disagree with the world's view the motherhood and being a homemaker are sentencing women to a life of toil and menial labor. Being a homemaker was the best decision I made ever made. I learned more about myself as a wife/mother as I was home with my children than I ever did in college. Was it easy? Big no, but it was worth it, and I would choose to do it again and again.

What can we do to bring the focus back to family closeness and work? Here are some helpful starting points:

1.       Grow a garden! Let your children help prepare the soil, plant, and weed it. Yes, it will take more time but take the time to teach little fingers to plant the tiny seeds. Show them how to be the hero and save the baby plants from the monster weeds! If your children are small, I recommend supervising one at a time; otherwise, you may have more vegetables pulled than weeds! You will also be able to witness the miracle of picking your own veggies. You'll see the wonder in your child's eyes of magic veggies appearing from the seed you planted together. It's a time to share and laugh and be with each other.

2.       Don't make work a punishment. Work alongside your kids. Children love to help, teach them while they are young to do their part and feel proud.

3.       Chores are important! Kids are busy but so are parents. Don't take away this vital character builder. Having duties and following through to help the family helps children develop the ability to see things to the finish and become self-starters.

Choose one, begin today to reclaim family work and memories and love. . .