There was once a frugal couple with a large family to care for.  He was the breadwinner.  She stayed home to care for the children.  There were 10 of them.  With such a large family, money was scarce.  Should she get a job?  Should she use her energies to bring an extra income into the family?  Was it fair that he should do all the work?

The couple determined that her time could best be spent being with and influencing the children.  She stayed home.  She taught the children and ran the home.  She changed the diapers and did the laundry.  She baked the bread and cooked the meals.  She canned the peaches and made the pies.  She doctored the sick and sang them to sleep.  She patched the pants and made the dresses.  She cut their hair and bathed the babies.  She quilted and cleaned.  She read with the children and taught them letters.  She fixed the girls' hair and had the children looking nice as they left for school.

She felt sorry for her hard-working husband, and wished she could be a better help.  He did so much while she contributed so little.  But they were happy.  They were happy together for over 50 years.  She only wished she could have done more.

For 42 years they had children in the home.  For 42 years he worked hard while she stayed home.  What kind of partnership was that?

One day the husband made some calculations.

One haircut per month for 18 years times 10 children times $10 = $21,600.

One haircut per month for him times 50 years times $10                          =     6,000.

Eight loaves of bread per week times 50 years times $1 per loaf  =   20,800.

One hundred dresses times $50                                                                 =     5,000.

One thousand quarts of canning times 50 years times $1              =   50,000.

103,400.

Chauffeuring, laundry, cooking and cleaning services times 50 years      =       ?

And how do you put a value to her love, he wondered, and to the music she provided with her piano playing, and to the atmosphere in the home, and to the way the kids turned out, and to the skills she taught them?

It was plain to see that he had a multi-million-dollar wife.  Calculating her value was not possible.

He told her so.

“I feel better about myself,” she said.  “I didn't realize that I'd done anything.”

Application:

“She is more precious than rubies:

and all the things thou canst desire are not to be compared unto her.”

—Proverbs 3:15

So, if she wants to take a nap now, it's OK.