When modest Helen died, her obituary stated her occupation: homemaker.   But if anyone knew Helen her life was more than simply cleaning, cooking, and housework. She was a loving, kind, gentle homemaker, a title she wore like a jeweled crown. Why?  Simply because Helen embraced it as loving service.

She saw the acts she did everyday as acts of love and caring for her real treasures: her son, two daughters, and her husband.   

Her daily tasks were ways she told God of her gratitude for his loving her. Helen knew God loved her and showed this love through the love she received from her family.  The ordinary things Helen did with such extraordinary attention lifted her tasks before God as great acts of praise.

Great opportunities to please God come along infrequently but turning little acts into great acts of praise happen daily, Saint Francis de Sales wrote. Helen knew this and made each act, large or small, her prayer.

Through Helen’s workday, God’s presence embraced Helen nurturing, nourishing, and refreshing her family. As a result, her work around her home gave her consolation and comfort. Everything she did was wrapped with gratitude to God for the precious gift of family.  For she saw each family member as a pearl of great price.

This outlook fueled her passion giving quickness to her steps as she moved about her home.   For Helen, service was a privilege and not a duty. It was her way to holiness and she embraced it.

This was obvious in her humming as she cooked her sought-after spaghetti sauce recipe with those secret spices. It radiated through her contented smile as she placed a favorite pasta dish on the dinner table. This was especially true when “oohs and ahs” emanated from her delighted family.

Love rose from her perfectly folded laundry placed carefully in her basket, in her discreet singing while vacuuming rugs or in her pleased smile dusting her special knick-knack collection.

Dedication and love for family was all over her daily chores.  These small acts done with great love gave zest to her mounting years. Everything was her choice for nothing delighted her more than to be surrounded with her contented and happy family.

 St Francis de Sales writes: When we see our neighbor, created in the image and likeness of God, and we should say to one another, “See and consider this creature as the likeness of our Creator.”   Helen lived this with each shiny dish, spoon or ironed blouse.

Reflecting on her life reveals a wonderful model of holiness. Helen did what she did in life with gratefulness and joy.  Yet, when challenges greeted her, Helen faced them with resolve and love.  And her family never forgot they were loved even when her words were tough to hear.

Yes, Helen was a homemaker, but she was also a heart-maker.  She made a home, a place for God to feel welcome, and softened hearts to make room for Jesus.

Helen was a homemaker for sure, and the home she made was the kind that lasts an eternity.