"uncommon common man." The characters included a steel worker, parking garage attendant, migrant worker, waitress, sociailite, housewife, and many more. Every monologue and song was touching and I'm sure strikes a chord with everyone. One song that struck a chord with me was "Just a Housewife:"
All I am is just a housewife
Nothing special, nothing great
What I do is kinda boring
If you'd rather, it can wait
All I am is someone's mother
All I am is someone's wife
All of which seems unimportant
All it is is
Just my life
Do the laundry, wash the dishes
Take the dog out, clean the house
Shop for groceries, look for specials
God it sounds so, Mickey Mouse
Drop the kids off, pick the shirts up
Try to lose weight, try again
Keep the troops fed, pick their things up
Lose your patience, count to ten
...
All I am is just a housewife
Just a housewife, nothing great
What I do is "out of fashion"
What I feel is out of date
All I am is someone's mother
Right away I'm not too bright
What I do is unfulfulling
So the T.V. talk-shows tell me every night
I don't mean to complain at all
But they make you feel like you're two feet tall
When you're just a wife
Nowadays all the magazines
Make a bunch of beans
Out of family life
You're a "whiz" if you go to work
But you're just a jerk if you say you won't
Women's Lib says they think it's fine
If the choice is mine
But you know they don't
What I do, what I choose to do
May be dumb to you
But it's not to me
Is it dumb that they need me there?
Is it dumb to care?
Cause I do, you see
And I mean, Did ya ever think,
Really stop and think
What a job it was-
Doing all the things
That a housewife does?...
Do you feel this way? Although your family may not always show their appreciation, they do.
What you do matters even if you can't see it now. I know it sounds so
cliche, but this is what I tell myself as I clean up my kitchen at night
knowing full well it will be a mess again in the morning. Or as I
spend the day driving my teenage son to drama, drive to the store with
my tween to get a present for his friend's birthday party, drive to
tween's friend's birthday party almost an hour away, then go home to do
laundry that grows like spaghetti.
Maybe you aren't a housewife. Maybe you are a broke college student. Maybe you are working in a job that wasn't your first or second or third choice. Maybe you are a mama juggling two or three jobs. I want you to know that regardless of what you do, YOU matter. You are not "just" a housewife. You are not "just" a mom.
Maybe you aren't a housewife. Maybe you are a broke college student. Maybe you are working in a job that wasn't your first or second or third choice. Maybe you are a mama juggling two or three jobs. I want you to know that regardless of what you do, YOU matter. You are not "just" a housewife. You are not "just" a mom.
You are not "just" a housewife. Not "just" (fill in the blank here). I struggled for so long with the label of being "just" a housewife... "just" a child care worker... "just" a mom... "just" a greeter... "just" a substitute aide.
What helps me remember that I am not "just" whatever role I have is remembering who I am in Christ:
"God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them;
male and female he created them,"
(Genesis 1:27).
"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you,
before you were born I set you apart;
I appointed you as a prophet to the nations,"
(Jeremiah 1:5).
"Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name,
he gave the right to become children of God,"
(John 1:12).
"But you are a chose people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
God's special possession, that you may declare the praises of him
who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light,"
(1 Peter 2:9).
These are just a few truths that have helped me. I also remember that no matter what I do- at home or in a work setting- I don't just do it for my family or for my employer:
"Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart,
as working for the Lord, not man,"
(Colossians 3:23).
In the past, I struggled with being "just" me. But I have come to learn that I am much more than what I do. I am not "just" a mom, "just" a college student, "just" a greeter. I am a child of God. And that is what keeps me going.
How can you overcome the label of being "just" a (fill in the blank)?
How can you overcome the label of being "just" a (fill in the blank)?
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