Send to Kindleby Parker J. Cole
The day I quit my 9 to 5 job, I’d have enough of office politics, backstabbing, managerial incompetence, and favoritism. I had worked in Corporate America for a long time. I knew the ends and outs of that realm. I no longer wanted a part of it. I sent my resignation in that Friday afternoon. When Monday came around, as I went to work out my two weeks, I was told not to bother coming in. My years at the company were shoved out the door and tossed aside like garbage.
Thank you, Corporate America! It’s been real.
The next morning, I woke with something of an identity crisis. After all, for years, I’d been in someone’s company, making that company richer, more productive, building their business relationships, and more. (Although there was a period where I was a horrible employee and it wasn’t until I literally slammed my head into the passenger window in a car accident I realized these people pay me to work there, not screw around.)
I didn’t have to punch in a clock. Didn’t have to deal with clients (although except for one or two people, I preferred my clients over my co-workers). I could sleep in as long as I wanted to. For the first week or so, although I basked in my newfound freedoms, I still wafted around unsure of what to do. Corporate America does have a structure. It does have roles, boundaries, dos and don’ts. What did I do with my life from here on out?
It was a no brainer that I would focus on my broadcasting and writing. But I’m not a woman prone to structure. I did what I had to do in Corporate America because they paid me, not because I enjoyed it. I enjoyed building relationships with my clients. Answering the phone, mitigating complaints, talking to folks, bring it on! Filling in that Excel spreadsheet? Someone please! Poke my eyes out.
Note to anyone out there looking to see what their purpose is: what would you do for free? Not much and that’s how you can begin narrowing down what it is you’re meant to do in this world. The Lord knows what He gifted you with and you’re the only one who can do it.
The COVID happened and changed a crud load of things. I won’t go into all of it because, why?
I remember thinking, while I worked in Corporate America, that I would be a good housewife. I’d stay at home, take care of the house, wash the clothes, and then do my writing and broadcasting. Being a housewife would be easy, I’d think as I sat at my computer. A breeze!
Now that I am one, I was blown away by the whole shift of understanding. I need to preface this by adding that before I became a housewife, I was horrible housekeeper. After I became a housewife, I’m still a horrible housekeeper.
See, I thought that being a housewife wasn’t a career. I thought it was just staying at home, doing the dishes, and making food. I thought it was doing the laundry and putting it away. I thought it was just sweeping up the floors, vacuuming the carpet, making the beds, and then sitting down and relaxing for the rest of the day.
I never quite understood that managing your own house was managing a company. See, in Corporate America, I’d been in an administrative capacity for many years. But that was the only thing I had to do. As housewife your role expands. Unlike some jobs, I have to put on many hats. Accounting is not my strong suit, but I have to balance and pay the bills. As production manager, I have to make sure operations keep going. As the maintenance department, the majority of it falls on me to make sure the house is kept up to standard. As head of Food and Agriculture, I have to make sure we have good quality food come into the house, that our health has some sort of standard and that we keep contamination down.
As the reality of the shift in careers changed, I realized something – there is no difference between a career woman and a housewife. They’re the same.
Here’s the thing: when God created Eve, He created her to be a helpmeet. She had his back and he had hers. That responsibility pours over into every part of a woman’s life, married or not, mothers or not. It’s the same thing. I honestly thought it was different.
Whenever you read Proverbs 31 about the ‘Virtuous Woman’, this incredible lady was a career woman. She handled her home and her business with enviable expertise.
Is it any wonder why women are such good administrators? It’s not about ‘girl power’ or ‘women are better than men’. If anything, it’s recognizing our strengths to manage life in whatever capacity we’re placed in. Whether as a single woman, a married woman, a single woman with kids, a married woman with kids – your career is your life and how well you manage it.
I’ll send with this: every few years, I have a recurring dream about this house. I love this house. It’s gorgeous – large, ornate, with dozens and dozens of rooms. There are stairs and doors. Some doors are locked, others aren’t. The stairs lead up to different levels. I meet people there. Other times, I hear them as if they’re far away. I told this dream on one of my shows and Sharon Tooson, who interprets dreams, made me realized that this house was my life.
So, that brings me to my closing. I know other people have different opinions and experiences. But this my experience I wanted to share.
I submit this: your house, woman of God, is your life. Whether your primary focus is on career building or homemaking or a mix in between, then remember you make of it what you make of it.
If your house is your life, whatever you decide to do with it, then remember this verse in Proverbs 14:
Every wise woman buildeth her house: but the foolish plucketh it down with her hands.
Be blessed!
About the Author:
Parker J. Cole is a writer and radio show host who spends most of her time reading, knitting, writing, cooking, and concocting new ideas for stories. Her first novel, Dark Cherub, won Best of Spring Reading 2013 from eMediaCampaigns. She lives in Michigan with her husband and beloved dog Sarah.
Visit her site at http://www.ParkerJCole.com
