Short Stories

Household Hero

by Stephen Wong
06/09/18
Not For Sale
Author requests article critique

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I’ve never been famous before. I’ve never been on tv or on the front page of a magazine. I’ve never had people ask for my autograph or line up in crowds just to see me. I don’t have any buildings named after me. Nobody has written a biography about my life.

I’ve never been a superhero before. I don’t spend my days fighting crime, or putting out fires, or saving lives, or feeding the poor. I haven’t made any new inventions or scientific discoveries that have changed the world. I’ve never been a boss before.  I don’t own any big company. I don’t make millions of dollars every year. I’ve never been a missionary before. I’ve never had the chance to travel to unreached people groups around the world or preach the gospel to thousands of people.

Instead my job is what people commonly call a house husband. In the eyes of the world I might not be that special. My job may never be popular enough to make the news headlines, or manly enough to impress some of my friends, or important enough to win an award or inspire a movie or documentary, but there’s value in what I do that the world doesn’t always see.

There’s value in every dirty dish I clean, in every dusty surface I wipe down, in every meal that I cook or in every piece of dirty laundry I chuck into the washing machine. There’s value in waking up early every day when I would rather sleep in, to help get everyone ready for the day. There’s value in every car ride I give or every time that I do the weekly shopping. There’s value in asking how my wife’s day was or getting some flowers or a nice bath ready for her when she gets home from a tiring day of work. There’s value in every bedtime story I read to my kids, or every time I help them with their homework or take them to the park to play. There’s value in every Bible story or prayer that I teach them. There’s value every time that I tell them off, or encourage them not to give up, or be there to listen to or comfort them after a hard day at school. There’s value in loving and serving my family and making our home a warm and loving place for them to come back to at the end of each day. There’s value in being able to care for my wife and support her in the ways that she serves God every day. There’s value in helping my kids grow up to be healthy and morally responsible people who love and want to serve Jesus for the rest of their lives, and who will make the most of the gifts that God has given them. 

Maybe I will never win a Grammy award or the Nobel Peace Prize, but after every long and tiring day of working around the house and looking after my family, I can look forward to the greater reward of one day being able to stand before my Maker and hear him say the words, “Well done, good and faithful servant.”