BOM block 5 The Virtuous Wife...

 

I wrote about handmaidens a couple of years ago, and my thoughts have not changed since then, so I will share them once more for they resonate well with the March block in our Virtuous Wife BOM. 

In some versions of the bible, Proverbs 31:15 refers to our lady of the house as caring for her maidens, and in other versions, handmaidens. These handmaidens were women who did much of the homemaking duties, though we are quite aware in reading Proverbs 31:10-31 that the wife herself was not idle, but proficient in working within the home and prospering her family by wise purchasing and decision making (as described in verse 16).

I often hear women say "Well, she had maidservants, I don't!"...but let's look at this again, because it always astounds me how they have completely overlooked the handmaidens in their own homes today. I think Mrs Proverbs 31 would have loved some of the ones that work in my own home.

Growing up I saw my Nana work hard each day, never begrudgingly, and for us not having a fridge or washing machine or vacuum cleaner or hot water in the home was quite normal. I did not realise that some people around us had a real refrigerator, a twin tub washer, or that they could turn on a hot or cold tap right inside their own house. My little world revolved around the home Nana and Pop made for us, and in comparison to many of their peers, it could even be called primitive by 1960's to early 70's standards. In fact I was thirteen when Nana and Pop moved into a different flat, one which had hot and cold running water at the kitchen sink (though we had to light the gas for hot water). Up until then Nana boiled water in the old copper (which doubled as her washday tub as it had a detachable wringer) and every few days she'd carry bucket loads of hot water from the copper, up the back yard to the bathhouse and pour them in to the old bathtub for us to take turns bathing in. 

Then the water had to be emptied from the tub, bucket by bucket, and the bathtub cleaned and dried. On in-between days Nana, Pop and I would scrub our hands, faces, feet, behind the ears and wash our hair under the cold tap outside the back door. This was our normal life and I never imagined it to be different.

I can still remember the Ice Man arriving every week to deposit a huge cube of ice in the Icebox because until I was thirteen we did not have a refrigerator. 

Now you know, I love the old days, the old ways, and enjoy learning the skills of those times, and there was a time where I expounded over and over how if it was good enough for Nana then we should all aim to step back and do things the way they used to be done. But things change. A child, which is still what I call myself before God, grows up and the Lord instils a bit more wisdom and common sense along the way. 

When Nana finally got a twin tub washing machine in 1972 it was a gamechanger for her. She was getting older, around the same age I am now, and she did not have the strength of her younger years, so for the next ten years she delighted in her new handmaiden until she passed away in 1982.

And one day this came home to me as I studied Proverbs 31:10-31...the fact that if Nana were alive today she would love a front loader like mine. She would have thoroughly enjoyed using my vacuum cleaner and steam mop. She would definitely find my two refrigerators quite a step above the small second hand Kelvinator she eventually got around the time we moved in 1972.

My dishwasher, iron, sewing machine, coffee machine, blender, oven, cooktop, hair dryer, hot and cold taps, water filter...every one of these is also a maidservant in my home, just as they are in yours.

Pondering how well my Nana kept house, how everything she owned was appreciated because my Pop worked hard to purchase them, how her little abode twinkled and shone with care and homemaker pride, how her days reflected a gentle unchanging rhythm of habits and routines...I'm often struck by my own lack of appreciation for all the modern appliances which fill my home and make the rhythms of a homemaker life so much easier.

Though our homes are larger today on average, I can easily mop a three bedroom house far quicker than Nana could scrub the one-bedroom walk-through on her knees.

I don't have to shop every day or two for fresh produce as she did, but can shop weekly and store it all in a larger fridge and freezer as well as the walk-in pantry.

My washing is done one load per day, on a 30 minute eco cycle, before I hang it all out in the sun on the clothesline. Nana spent many hours every Monday doing the weekly wash and until we got the twin tub (which was still far more work than our modern machines) she did it all by hand.

Nana would take all the rugs outside and hang them over the clothesline to beat them with a huge broom to dislodge the dust each week. I just vacuum.

How wonderful are our handmaidens?!

Let us ponder this today, because like most things in life that we take for granted, a lack of appreciation for what we now consider basic everyday items, can creep in to our hearts. The Proverbs 31 wife cared for her handmaidens, and I wonder if we care enough for ours? Are they cleaned and maintained regularly so that we can keep them running well for many years to come?

Throughout March, as you and I fill the washing machine, vacuum the carpets and rugs, cream butter and sugar in minutes with our electric mixer (Nana had a hand beater that took forever), brew a coffee, heat up leftovers in the microwave for dinner, or attend to any number of household requirements, let us give thanks for each of our labour-saving handmaidens, okay, and care for them well. 

Use the link below to download this month's free pattern.

DOWNLOAD Block 5 The Virtuous Wife

You can download the first four blocks (also free) HERE

Bless you heaps,

Don't miss out on any Elefantz news or free patterns. 

Subscribe to my blog posts HERE and receive them direct to your email inbox.  

Or sign up HERE for my free newsletter which often has extra benefits, freebies & tutorials!