I don't think I ever had a spanking as Mother sheltered me to the highest degree. I'm sure it was all that my Dad could do to spare the rod many times but Mom usually always kept that from happening. To put it very bluntly, I was unbelievably spoiled and was never asked to participate in the household chores or do anything that I didn't want to do. I know now that even today I'm paying for all of the times I should have been helping my sickly Mother instead of wollering in my own self pity.
We were very fortunate as we were raised by God fearing parents which gave us the foundation on which to build Godly lives if we so chose. I was the baby of six children, four brothers and one sister, and they were nearly grown when I came along. We lived what I felt was a very normal life to me as Mother stayed home and Dad made the living. I can remember many times I heard my family mention that Dad had to work at two jobs during the depression to provide for us all but in those days, that was a man's place. Now, the trend is for the woman to leave the home and for the men to stay home but seriously, I don't believe that is what our maker honors. Every girl and woman should study the book of Titus
where it refers to the aged women and their place in the home. Let us read Chapter 2:4-5, 4 That they may teach the young women to be sober, to love their husbands, to love their children, 5 To be discreet, chaste, keepers at home, good, obedient to their own husbands, that the word of God be not blasphemed. The argument of today is that it takes two incomes to meet financial obligations of running a home but could that be possibly why so many couples are not finding fulfillment in their marriages? Many couples today buy, based on the wife's income and the husband's combined as they know beforehand that on the husband's income alone they could not have as much. But I feel that if God comes first, He will see to it that those that are obedient to His word will prosper beyond their wildest dreams.
Money and material wealth has ruined us all and now even our country is suffering from the monster called greed. The fear of not having security has turned us the other way and now we're over consumed with the desire for wealth when all of the time, security is knowing whom we are in Christ. We've come a long way from when Jesus sent out the disciples saying in Matthew 10:9-10, 9. Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass in your purses, 10. Nor scrip for your journey, either two coats, neither shoes, nor yet staves: for the workman is worthy of his meat.
I was luckier than most as I was allowed the opportunity to stay home with my boys when they were little. That was a treasured experience for me of which I will always cherish. I would think that children are better off with a babysitter than a mother that doesn't wish to be home with them. But, I firmly believe that if a mother desires to be home with her little ones and does not want to work outside the home then both her and her spouse should do everything in their power to make it happen only if both of them agree.
Again, the book of Titus a very short but powerful little book in the bible and one that deserves respect. It would be profitable for every young girl to read it before entertaining the idea of becoming a wife and mother. I've often thought that counseling young girls would be most rewarding to me. I would begin with their self esteem and teach them about what God has to say about divorce, marriage, parenting, etc. in the biblical sense of the word. I would encourage them to have enough love and respect for themselves to feel deserving of a happier and more well adjusted Christian life and future and that putting God first is the key to an abundant life.