I came across a new website I saw on my friend's facebook page. The website is called passionatehomemaking. Lindsay Edmonds is the creator. Lindsay shares many, many different insights into her journey as a homemaker. I was so excited to find this website because so much of it is my heart's cry as well. I'm pretty sure it came as a result of my heartfelt cries to God for help in this area. Here's my story:
Over the last two years I have changed the eating habits in our home. I really felt that God laid it on my heart to take better care of my body. I read a book called,
The Seven Pillars of Health by Dr. Don Colbert. I really enjoyed the book, although it was a lot of information to swallow. Dr. Colbert warns in his book not to get overwhelmed and to take things slow. I should have listened to his advice, but it was a library book so I had to read it quickly. I even checked it out 2 or 3 times! At first, I was very excited about my new found knowledge. I attacked my kitchen and threw out all things high-fructose corn syrup, hydrogenated, and bleached!!! I was on a roll, but slowly, I became a little confused and overwhelmed. There's so much to know about living a natural lifestyle.
One day I was walking down the grocery aisle and I felt like crying as so many different emotions were inside of me. I wanted so badly to give my family the best care and nutrition possible, but we were limited by finances, resources, and my lack of knowledge. I felt so helpless. I couldn't ignore the knowledge I had gained. Learning all the harmful things that we put in our bodies day to day could never be erased; however, I didn't know what to do with it. I didn't know what to do when we ate with other people who did not share our new lifestyle. At first, I thought , well, we won't make it a big deal around other people. But what if we were eating with other people a couple times a week, then what? It would totally get us off track and it seemed pointless to continue to eat healthy only some of the time. Also, it was so time consuming! I had to learn to plan ahead, stay on budget, and research ingredients. I felt stressed out as I was already working 30 hours at another job with almost an hour commute on the way home. I barely made it home to cook dinner. Some days I would have to decide whether to clean the house or make a healthy meal. I found myself frustrated that I ever found out about toxic foods. I couldn't bare to give my family freezer food or packaged dinners. I was getting little colds and infections often due to stress. I thought to myself how stress was just as harmful or maybe even more so than unhealthy foods. I needed help.
My problem wasn't our finances, it wasn't the knowledge or lack thereof, it wasn't resources. My problem was trying to do things all on my own. I began to cry out to God, finally (duh). I really felt that my place was not out in the workforce, but at home taking care of my family and my home. I know this is what God has for me. Financially it doesn' make sense right now, but I trust God. I can breathe now and I know the Holy Spirit will help me to be the wife and mother I was created to be. The Holy Spirit is here on Earth to guide us and comfort us, and I am learning to ask Him everything from what stores to shop at and what products to buy. I can't find everything out at once, but I can learn a little at a time. There will be compromises here and there-especially while I'm still learning. One day I will be the woman I was created to be, but it will take a lifetime of figuring it out.
