From Career Woman to Full-Time Homemaker

“I’ve always thought of you as a career woman, not a housewife and mother,” exclaimed my former officemate when she visited me, my husband, and our baby in our new home. Her comment brought me back to a time in my life when I thought that having a family was out of the question.

                    Photo by Michael Paul Cocuaco 

I had been blessed with a career that allowed me to travel, work with amazing people, and use my communication skills to tell stories about God, which is my passion. I was handling two weekly TV shows. On the side, I was writing for magazines—being sent to cover events and interview interesting personalities. Life was adrenaline-filled then and I was enjoying it too much. “When do I fit marriage and kids into the picture?” I would ask God. That all changed when love found me.

I came to realize that as noble as my career and ministry goals were, my family deserves my full attention. And so the driven career woman slowly morphed into a full-time housewife and mother. Some feminists may view it as form of slavery, but because it is a choice borne out of love, I see it as a luxury. Not everyone can have that luxury nowadays. I am grateful to be allowed to stay home to take care of my young family.

As old-fashioned as it may sound, I subscribe to the belief that author and speaker Nancy Leigh Demoss espouses. She says: “The Scripture is clear that a married woman’s life and ministry are to be centered in her home. This is not to suggest that it is necessarily wrong for a wife and mother to have a job outside her home—unless that job in any way competes with or diminishes her effectiveness in fulfilling her primary calling at home.”

In my former life, I am accustomed to having the rising sun greet me as I drive home from an all-night shoot. My days were filled with brainstorming sessions, field interviews, and countless hours in front of a video editing machine. Life is not as fast-paced now. My daily routine is very predictable and may sound boring to some. The most exciting part of my day is seeing my baby daughter smile or learn a new antic. Today, she woke up with a big grin, her eyes still chinky from sleep. And then, when I started singing, she began shaking her head to the rhythm of my song. I used to worry about beating rush-hour traffic and work deadlines. Now it’s whether Mishca will finally poo after being constipated for two days or if I’ll have enough time to prepare lunch before I get interrupted by her cries.

Do I miss my former life? To be honest, I sometimes do. There are times when I’d find myself wishing I can be both a career-woman and a full-time mom this season of my life, but that is just not possible or realistic at the moment. Do I have regrets in choosing this path? Not a hint. I can always go back to work, but I will not always have my baby at home. As it is, I feel that she is growing up too fast and she’s only 10 months old! Pretty soon she’ll have a life of her own.

I like what President Noynoy said: “We believe a lot of the solutions to the problems in the country will be best addressed by a family that is strong, united, and strengthening and caring for the children that they bring into this world.” These words encapsulate the very reason I chose to be a full-time

homemaker. I want to raise a strong and close-knit family. I want my children to be godly and responsible citizens. I don’t think I can raise them well without being fully there.

I view the apostle Paul’s words in Titus 2: 4-5 as a daily personal challenge: “Urge the younger women to love their husbands and children, to be self-controlled and pure, to be busy at home, to be kind, and to be subject to their husbands, so that no one will malign the word of God.” So help me God as I change another pair of dirty diapers!

This article appeared in the 700 Club Asia’s Family Section in July 2012. Click here to view the original article.