Part of being a homemaker is making a cozy home, one that is warm and inviting. We tend to do this through our decoration arrangements and choices, but if this is all we do, then we miss the final touch to make our home a cozy one.
What makes a cozy home? Yes, it is how we decorate our home, but the final touch is something more. It is something more life giving, more intentional, and much harder to maintain than decor and wonderful scents.
The final touch to a cozy home is you. The homemaker is the final touch. I’m not meaning your wardrobe or how you do your hair. It goes deeper than that.
It is the heart within you. You can have everything in place, but unless you cultivate virtue within your heart, your home will be missing the final touch.
What is Virtue?
This has been the question of the ages. We tend to automatically think that virtue means moral character, and while it does mean that, it also means much more.
You may find it helpful to think of virtue as a diamond or precious stone that is multifaceted. It once was a rough stone, but under the guidance of a master craftsman, it is crafted into a multi-faceted beauty.
Virtue is like this diamond, like the one many of you wear on your finger. It has many sides to it, one of which is good character, but there is so much more to virtue than just this.
There is a goodness to it that cannot be summed up with just “good character”. One dictionary defined it as “excellence of soul”.
Virtue is good character, a good disposition, a good conversation. It is the goodness that envelops a disciplined mind. It is the beauty within.
How can we as homemakers cultivate virtue? How can we add this goodness to our home to give it a rich coziness?
Here are 8 virtues that you as a homemaker can cultivate to add that final touch to a cozy home.
Thankfulness
Having a grateful heart affects your disposition and how you go about making it home. It helps us smile and be courageous. It praises the Lord, blesses other people, even just our family. It is easy to be thankful here and there, but to truly be virtuous, thankfulness should be a habit that we create and keep in our life.
Cheerfulness
There’s something warming and cozy about walking into a happy home. It’s life-giving, and while the wall decorations and delightful scents can make people happy, a happy homemaker is the icing on the cake.
Related Post: How can I be a happy homemaker?
Contentment
We may not have much. We may have to do without, but a great homemaker is at peace with her lot in life. She expects the hardships in the process of motherhood, with perhaps a tear in her eye, but a “not my will but thine, O Lord” on her lips.
She is satisfied to serve her family, willing to sacrifice, and give of herself. She’s content with life, although it is a constant struggle between chaos and order. She may not love every moment, but she’s content to accept whatever moment brings as an opportunity to be more virtuous.
Peace
As homemakers, we know that not every moment is peaceful, but with the virtue of God inside of us, we can bring peace to every moment. In many ways, we are the peacemakers of our homes. We can bring peace to those chaotic moments if we first come from a place of peace.
Love
It is easy to love and give of yourself when you are in a good mood and everything is going well. Sacrificing is easy when you feel like doing it, but in the moments when it’s hard to sacrifice, even when you don’t feel like it, is there anything more virtuous than this?
Wisdom
Making the right decisions at the right time is something that does not come naturally to us. We naturally want to choose what feels good and seems easier in the moment, but it can cause disorder in our lives, our house, and our relationships.
It calls us to maturity and discipline, even though it’s hard and we would would rather not clean up and do our housekeeping for the week.
Can we create a warm and inviting place that helps other people flourish without wisdom?
Diligence
The virtuous woman of Proverbs 31 was known for her diligence, hard work, efficiency, and skill. We can only imagine how delightful her home must have been with quality items that she either made with her own hands or worked hard to procure. Think of the food she brought from afar, the fine clothing she made. Her home was a wonderful place to be because of her diligence.
Related Post: 15 Old Fashioned Homemaking Skills that We still Need
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Reverence
Respect. Respect towards God, and how we worship him, how we treat other people, how we bear His image in our words and actions. It is virtuous to be reverent. We can have our home decorated perfectly, but if we are rude in our attitude or dress sloppy all day, what good is it?
Final Thoughts!
Creating a cozy place where we can flourish is ,I think, a goal of most if not every homemaker. We desire to make a life-giving place that blesses ourselves and all those who enter it. Without the final touch of virtue, can our homes minister to hearts as we so deeply desire it to?
Though it might feel discouraging to contemplate all that we need to improve and work on, remember that we have our lifetime to cultivate virtue. It is not something we have to accomplish today or tomorrow. This refinement of our souls is a journey, and one that is well worth it.
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Good thoughts. Reverence is not one thought about much but I can see the difference that makes in the home and how we’ve lost it in the last generations. Thanks!
Wonderful encouraging post! It is so true that we set the atmosphere of our home. What a good reminder to cultivate virtue in myself.