Prosperity Tip - For Working Mothers Who Struggle With Guilt

All I wanted was to be "Mom." So when circumstances forced me into the workplace, I was devastated and determined to find a way to develop an income that would allow me to stay at home with the kids. With this objective in mind, I spent many, many hours "working" toward my dream while the neighbor moms baked cookies. In truth, that's what I wished I could be doing instead, but I had to build a future for our family so that I could look forward to a day when Mom AND Dad could enjoy family time and money freedom together. Eventually, my husband moved into a career that made a respectable income that provided for us well, but there was never enough time on the side for him to build a future outside of the J-O-B. I had to do something.


Did I ever feel guilty about doing more than Beverly Cleaver used to do? Yeah, sometimes. I grew up with traditional values and a desire to pass them along. I wanted to be the domestic goddess with a perfectly clean home and perfectly behaved children, nourished three times daily with perfectly balanced meals. But something inside me drove me to do other things, too. I felt guilty about that, until I stumbled onto a certain Proverb that helped me feel better. It is the definition of a "virtuous woman" and goes like this:


"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies. She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands. She is like the merchants' ships; she bringeth her food from afar. She ariseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens. She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard. . . She perceiveth that her merchandise is good: her candle goeth not out by night. She layeth her hands to the spindle . . . She maketh herself coverings of tapestry . . . She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant... She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her . . ."


A virtuous woman sounds busy doing many, many things, including working for financial gain. This verse helped me feel better about burning the midnight oil now and then to make my own contribution to our family.


Still, even now, every monetary goal I set is always for the primary purpose of being free to focus on raising my children the way I want, which is for the purpose of helping them enjoy fulfilling, happy lives as adults, which is for the purpose of me coming to the end of my life pleased with the contribution I made while I was here.


Every goal I set will fit into the big picture of true prosperity somehow. If it doesn't, then I know that I will NOT be passionate enough about it to make it happen. To achieve lofty goals requires passion, and my family is my driving purpose for all I do.


Setting a goal to own a Rolls Royce will have no power for me, because it makes no contribution to the driving purpose for my life. Is a Rolls bad? No, it's beautiful! But I know myself well enough to know that it isn't something I'd go through the refiner's fire for.


Family time and money freedom, on the other hand, is something worth fighting for.


About the Author: A contributor to multiple Chicken Soup for the Soul books, Leslie Householder is the award-winning two-time best-selling author of "The Jackrabbit Factor" and "Hidden Treasures." She is the co-founder of http://www.principlesofprosperity.com/ a site dedicated to helping people gain more family time and money freedom through the little-known but critically fundamental principles of prosperity. Leslie is a wife and mother of seven children.



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