My name is Tiffany, but it should have been Martha. I’m a full-time working mom who has an unhealthy obsession deep enthusiasm for all things Martha Stewart-esque. In my idyllic world, I would live in perfectly beautiful surroundings that I created by hand, prepare nothing but interesting dishes with whole foods, and carry my label maker in my purse…just in case I stumbled across something that needed organizing. As a kid, I cleaned my room for fun, clipped coupons, and planned surprise parties for my teachers. Seriously–ask my mom.
Thankfully, I’m a recovering Martha, in a Biblical sense. I still have a tendency to chase my perfectionism, but by the grace of God, I have slowly learned to live a little while still enjoying all things Martha Stewart (minus the prison sentence and all). I married my free spirit-cum-practical husband Ricky in 2004 and became mom to an all-boy boy named Jake in November 2008.
A funny thing happens when you become a mother. Even the most committed careerist can change her mind about working. I sensed the Lord calling me to stay home from my day job as the head of marketing for a financial cooperative, yet financially, there was no way to do it. None. My husband was going back to school to pursue a career change, and even though we did not spend extravagantly and we were nearly free of debt, quitting work was not an option. I spent a full year tormenting over this, even being resentful of the challenge of the constant juggling act between wifehood, motherhood, and businesswoman. How is it that I have sensed the Lord’s calling, yet He provides me no means of fulfilling it? Worse yet, as my friends began to have children, I noticed that every single one of them were staying home or planning to stay home.
I have come to the conclusion that there are legitimate times where the Lord chooses to not remove women from the working world. I have also come to the conclusion that the calling of the Lord is for wives and mothers to place priority on being a “worker at home” (Titus 2:4. Proverbs 31). It is a matter of the heart, which sometimes translates into quitting your day job, and sometimes it doesn’t.
Chasing Martha is a place of encouragement and help for women who are just like me–full-time working moms who are committed to their calling as the heart of the home, while also juggling the demands of a career. It’s about balancing our love of living well with reality. And of course, you don’t have the be a full-time working mom to be chasing all things Martha. You just have to enjoy bringing home the bacon, then cooking it, serving it on a pretty platter, then sharing the recipe with all your girlfriends!
