I took a slow drive with my man the other day. He came in and invited me for an afternoon cruise in the country. My initial response was to decline as I had too many things I was trying to get ready for the week ahead. But as I thought about it, I remembered my resolutions for 2023. One of them is to TEND to the hearts of those within my home. And so, I said “Yes.”
We climbed in his old Rover and set out for a sweet time alone. The pixies stayed behind content to hang out with friends at the house. As we drove the back roads of Union county, I breathed deep thanking God that I get to do this: steal away with my husband on a balmy afternoon.
I love the word tend. Perhaps because it is the root of the word tender.
I’m reminded that as I interact with those closest to me I must be tender. I want my home to be a place of kindness and respite—a place of peace where my family actually wants to be. This is the mark of a beautiful home—we bring joy to those we love most.
But how easy is it to let the stresses and distractions of the day ruffle our feathers?
We let little things become much bigger things than they need to be. We react with impatience. We harbor resentment when our expectations aren’t met. And we argue rather than serve.
1 Timothy 2:22 has been shaping me as I work on my attitude within my home:
“ …the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone …not resentful.”
The last thing I want is to be a quarrelsome woman. There is enough bickering in the world around me. Why would I want to bring that into my home, project that on the ones I love most?
I want to be kind, tender with those God has given me.
When we escaped to the mountains over New Years I read a compelling chapter in Eve in Exile. Within it, Rebekah Markle writes:
“ —tending the home must therefore be a hugely meaningful task . . . the home is actually one of the most strategic and important tools by which the world will be won . . . get out there on the front lines . . . The home is the beating heart that powers everything else. The home nurtures, feeds, provides rest, gives shelter, and creates a loyalty to itself that is one of the strongest and most compelling of all human emotions.”
I was engrossed. The very word God gave me for the year —“tend”—is what she was writing about. I loved how she described tending as a hugely meaningful task.
Why do we forget this?
The home is the beating heart that powers everything else.
Just think of the beauty we get to bring within our homes. We get to shape young minds. We get to inspire hearts to dream big. We get to offer nourishing meals. We get to provide respite from the menacing world outside. We get to forge sibling loyalty. We get to write poetry with our lives.
Tim and I just finished recording our part in the Poetry of Place online course in which we are guest teachers. I cannot describe how much fun we had doing it together. I found myself coming alive again—things waking up inside me that had been dormant too long.
As Tim and I recounted the things within our own home we have learned over the years, I was once again reminded that I get to tend to these people God has given me. It is truly a beautiful gift.
Today, think about the gift of tending to those you love most. Remember to be tender even when it is hard. Perhaps you can grab a journal and list all the beautiful ways your home is the beating heart that powers everything else.
Together, let’s tend the hearts of those we love.
For more inspiration on tending our homes, you can listen to this recent podcast interview I had with the Journey Expressed Podcast. In it I share how I try to cultivate beauty in our home, family, marriage and relationships.
In this particular episode I share my word of the year—"tend"— and how God is teaching me the power and profoundness of being tender.
A much needed reminder! Thanks!
FYI...2 Timothy 2:24...
if we want to see change in our world, it begins at home
love the word tend thank you