The ladies of the family are admirable housewives
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When in Bahá'í history
The ladies of the family are admirable housewives. They make all their own simple wearing apparel, by the aid of a sewing machine from the western world. ...They typify the modern saint, the conception of whom obliges us to revolutionize our entire spiritual cosmogony. A fashionable woman of the western world, as helpless as are some of these artificial dames, and so eager for spiritual culture, was caught in the gentle household without a trunk, and so handsomely garbed that she felt disgraced in the presence of the lovely simplicity that reigns there. The Greatest Holy Leaf thereupon made her a print dress with her own beautiful hands, which was a model for grace and adjustment. The western woman is still puzzling perhaps over the problem of how such profound spirituality can be associated with such excellent practical skill and sense, but in reality they are always found side by side.
Source: Mary Hanford Ford, Oriental Rose, pp. 162-3; quoted in Janet Khan, Prophet's Daughter, p. 92
Collected from bahaistories.com (Subject: homemaking).
Discuss this story
For adults
- What stands out about Bahíyyih Khánum's response in this account?
- What might Bahíyyih Khánum's example ask of us in our own circumstances?
- Where do you see gentleness appearing — visibly or quietly — in this passage?
For teens
- What is one quality you'd want to carry forward from this account?
- Which line in this story surprised you the most?
Reflection
- How does gentleness show up in your life right now — and where is it being asked of you?
- Is there someone in your life who would be helped by hearing this story?
- Where in your own life are you being asked to practice gentleness?
Comprehension quiz
Which source is "The ladies of the family are admirable housewives" drawn from?
What period of Bahá'í history does this story belong to?
Which historical figure is featured most prominently in this story?
Which virtue does this story most clearly illustrate?
Cite this story
Various. *bahaistories.com archive*. https://bahaistories.com/subject/homemaking
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