A job outside of the home would be nice.  It would validate me as a person, right?  It would help me to feel like I made a difference in someone’s day.  It would boost our family income as we begin the trek toward college.  Yet every time we start talking about me getting a job, it just doesn’t seem like the right time.  I know every family has to weigh that decision for themselves, but for my house, I want to be around while my kids are still home.

There’s also a fallacy with thinking that I have to have an outside job in order to find self-worth.  My worth cannot come from what others think about me; it has to come from a secure place deep inside.  I think I am getting closer to that place, the more that time passes by.  Now you could ask me tomorrow and receive a totally different answer, but for today, I believe in what I am doing.  Maybe it has to do with letting go of trying to please everyone, but I like to think it has more to do with finding contentment. 

Where does contentment come from?  Paul says in I Timothy 6:6 that godliness + contentment = great gain.  I like that kind of math.  As I seek the heart of God and settle into what He calls me to do, I will find something of greater worth than money can buy.  So maybe a part of contentment is found in submitting to God’s will.  Every day is a tug-of-war in that process; I still have my own ideas about how life should function.  However, it functions much better when God’s the one in charge.  So maybe contentment isn’t found in a job or the size of house I live in, or where my kids go to school.  Maybe contentment is more about who I am in Christ, and in finding my security in Him. 

I think I’ll take that to the bank!

I'm struggling with the contentment issue right now. I feel everything that you're saying!

Rachel,
Everything around us says we need more in order to be happy. Our culture is brainwashing us into thinking we have to have it all...whatever that all looks like to you. Remember that commercial, "She can bring home the bacon and fry it up in a pan?" That's still the message we're getting; have a successful career and a Martha Stewart home. Ouch! Who can live up to that?
Keep seeking your contentment in Christ!

HI
JUST HOPPING AROUND... THOUGHT I WOULD DROP IN AND SAY HELLO.
DISCONTENTMENT?????? THE BIBLE SAYS THAT WE ARE SUPPOSE TO BE CONTENT IN NO MATTER WHAT STAGE WE ARE IN.... MMMMMM NOT ALWAYS THAT EASY BUT IT CAN BE DONE... SOMETIMES IT LOOKS IMPOSSIBLE, AND WE FEEL LIKE THINGS WILL NEVER CHANGE... WITH GOD ALL THINGS ARE POSSIBLE, WITH MAN NOTHING IS POSSIBLE...I GUESS THAT COMES TO TRUSTING.. AND BELIEVING...NO MATTER WHAT THE CIRCUMSTANCES ARE GOD WILL SEE US THROUGH THEM..
YOU HAVE A GREAT DAY, AND GOD BLESS

My wife has been a full-time at-home Mom, family coordinator, home educator, foster mom, family advocate, etc... for around 13 years now. I work full-time, but I can honestly say she accomplishes more worthwhile things in a day than I do in a month.

Still, she must face people who think she is wasting her master's level education, that she is underachieving, even that she is being selfish to stay home (think of how many lives you could touch in the work force....)

Thank God, she has a strong sense of self-esteem and keeps plugging along. I don't know where we'd be without her.

This is an excellent post. If you don't mind, I'd like to highlight it tomorrow on the BloggedIn News & Networking Highlights section.

Please email me at adoptive_mom_1 [at] yahoo [dot] com. Thanks!