As I was folding my laundry at 10pm last night, I began thinking about the women of yesteryear. I didn't determine a specific time frame in my reflection, which I know would alter the details of my thoughts, but I hope you can forgive the generalization. I thought about the women who had to sew their family's clothes, mend them by hand, and scrub them clean when they got dirty. I thought about the hours of hard work they put into each item of clothing: scrubbing, wringing, hanging to dry, collecting, folding, mending. Some of them had to make their own soap, perhaps even out of the fat of an animal they had cleaned, prepared, salted, dried, or cooked.
They didn't have the convenience of a local Target or Kohl's to buy whatever item fit their fancy, in whatever color or fabric they desired. They didn't have washing machines and dryers in which to dump their load, forgetting about it for an hour (or several!). These women worked hard. All the time. They didn't have the luxury to put their feet up or a regular coffee date with friends. They definitely wouldn't have had time to blog! Sure, I believe many of their lives were still filled with love and laughter. I believe they probably had peace and a sense of purpose as they fulfilled their womanly callings. But as I mutter about my long to-do list, and believe it will never all get done, and complain about the duties included therein, it helps to remember the women of yesteryear. It reminds me how much they sacrificed and how easy I have it. It reminds me that my list would be laughable in their sight. And it prods me to be thankful. Thankful for their legacies, thankful for the modern conveniences that I take for granted, thankful for the tasks that are set before me and the womanly calling that they help me embrace.
'Whatever you do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks through Him to God the Father.... Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as for the Lord rather than for men.'
-Colossians 3:17, 23
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