Sometimes it's nice to see that other people make mistakes too. Don't get me wrong, I'm not talking about taking pleasure in peoples hardships. I just mean its nice to see you aren't the only imperfect person on the planet. Which, let's face it, isn't always easy when we live in the age of filtered social media life.
I was 17 when I started really homemaking. I had grown up watching and learning from my Mum but I didn't do anything full time. Dishes and laundry were tasks I tackled fairly often. I could cook pretty well, in my mind at least. Full-time homemaking couldn't be much different. How wrong I was.
Situations changed as I jumped into homemaking and I found myself learning new ways of doing things I had never considered. Boiling water every time you needed to wash a dish. Cooking big meals in a small area. I learned how to use a countertop electric pizza oven to bake cookies and hamburger buns. Did you know you can make biscuits in a frying pan? I didn't until Mum showed me.
I became friends with a girl my age who I had met online. She, like me, was also a daughter at home. We shared an interest, a common purpose. I was happy to have a homemaking friend, except for one thing.
She made me feel like the worst failure on earth without even trying.
I found myself playing a secret comparison game. She was always together, always willing, always helpful, never forgetful. Not only did she run errands and take music lessons on top of her other homemaking duties, but she also held down a part-time job. And all this she did seamlessly with a smile.
On the other side of the spectrum, my house was messy, my fridge cluttered, and more than once I forgot to defrost the meat for dinner or make sure the crockpot was plugged in so it could cook. One time, we went to a friends house to cook dinner and I forgot to bring the main part of the meal. Homemaking was my only job and I felt like I was failing daily.
I asked God many times why I was such a rotten homemaker and, I'm not going to lie, I still do sometimes.
It would have been so encouraging to me as a new homemaker to see someone else admit to making mistakes too. From my perspective, everyone had already mastered the perfect homemaker bit which left me scratching my head and wondering how they did it.
Deep down, I knew nobody was perfect but sometimes it's hard to remind yourself of that when you can see your mistakes clearly and everyone else is hiding theirs.
I never want someone to look at me and say, "She is so perfect at everything she does!"
Dear Friends, I am far from perfect. I don't want to be the reason somebody quits trying because they can't "live up" to a false image I've portrayed.
False perfection doesn't help people.
False perfection doesn't teach people.
False perfection doesn't lead people.
Vulnerability does.
Honesty does.
Authenticity does.
My hope is that when you come here or to the Instagram community, you don't leave feeling less than. I hope you see a community of open and honest ladies striving to be the best homemakers they can be. I hope you take away something useful. I hope you feel comfortable sharing your triumphs and your disasters. I hope you leave feeling encouraged. And above all, I hope you leave with a strengthened and renewed walk with the Lord.
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