Why I Did It

Before I was married, I never thought about being a homemaker -- only about having a career and getting married.  I knew wanted kids but that was as far as I had thought.  Even when my husband and I decided to try to get pregnant, staying home was not on my radar.  But about 5 months into the pregnancy I began to become very protective of this yet unborn child.  God was planting a seed in my heart.  I desired to raise our child with Godly morals.  I couldn't trust some stranger at a daycare to instill the values that I believed in.  No one could take care of our child better than her own mother.  Despite my desire, my husband decided that I would have to work because I carried our health insurance.  I knew that I would have to convince him that my staying home was to our benefit.  So I started to research the pros and cons of quitting my job and becoming a stay at home mom.  I called daycare providers and found an average of costs for daycare services for infants.  I found that I would only have $50 left each week from my check after paying for insurance and child care.  I talked to my mom and mother-in-law about their availability to watch our daughter.  My mom works full time so she was out.  My mother-in-law said she could handle a couple of days a week.  I also consulted stay at home moms about how they made it work.  I asked my pastor to pray for guidance.  I collected all my information -- I even had all the math charted on paper.   I prayed hard and approached my husband with all I had.  He wasn't impressed.  He had already made up his mind.  But so had I.  I didn't bring it up again to him, but I did bring it up to God, often.  Two weeks after the birth of our daughter, while watching TV, my husband leaned over to me and simply stated "You can stay home".  That was it.  No discussion, just a change of heart, a miracle.  I can't say that that was the last time we have brought up the subject of me working outside of the home, but God has continued to provide for us.  I continue to pray that God will lead give us wisdom about our finances and what I can do to help be a good steward of those finances.  I also pray that God will continue to speak to my husband about the benefit of my current role as "Mommy".