Anyone want to take a guess at which chapter I am referring to? A large part of it has to do with women. We had been working through the Proverbs as a family and came to chapter 31. "Oh, please Dave, couldn't we just skip over this one?" I have this love/hate relationship with this Proverbs 31 woman and depending on how I am feeling about myself, I would just like to ignore her - to just forget about that chapter. I wonder how anxious a man would be at reading a chapter that laid out 22 points about the excellent man? I guess that would depend on how macho he felt about himself at the moment.
Well, we read the chapter, discussed it and my dear husband reassured me that he felt no condemnation towards me at all. He is so gracious! I have been thinking . . . . . . about this wonder woman . . . . . .
"She is rare, trustworthy, constant in her love and respect towards her husband, industrious, thrifty, self-starting, enterprising, willing to do hard work, willing to work long hours, willing to do monotonous work, compassionate, prepared for the future, a good seamstress, married to a leader, an entrepreneur, not swayed by circumstances, wise and kind, duty-conscious, blessed by her family, not satisfied with the mediocre, a woman of God, praiseworthy, a woman of means and a woman of great skill and ability. She is a woman of God who is enterprising and dedicated to her home." (from the footnotes in my Bible)
Over the years, I have witnessed people setting "unspoken" guidelines on what a woman should and shouldn't do or be, because "that" is a man's responsibility, or "that" does not look like something a submissive wife would do. What "submissive" wife would go out and buy property and then proceed to make it a productive piece of land? This woman does! She works hard, very hard, from sun up to sun down and I know that she did it cheerfully and lovingly, for her husband and her children call her "blessed" (not "grumpy") and her husband praises and trusts her. Her whole being is dedicated to serving . . . serving her husband, her family, her community . . . simply, quietly, firmly, and boldly. She realizes that she is a key person in creating the right atmosphere in her home, in demonstrating Godly principles to her children. She is no whipped pup, but a woman with a purpose and goal to make life as good as possible while meeting the physical, material and spiritual needs of her family. Should we get discouraged thinking about this woman? I don't think so. I couldn't find anywhere about her age, but really, she could be 105. So take heart, we still have time! Hee! Hee! No, seriously, I serve a God who is patient, loving, compassionate, understanding, not only to those around me, but to me and to you -busy, sometimes overwhelmed, not-getting-it-all-done, wife and mother. He knows where each of us are in our journey of womanhood and He knows our hearts and desires! I will choose to rest in Him, and in my husband, for their acceptance and guidance and will continue to look at this Proverbs 31 woman in awe and wonder, for truly she is a rare find.
Until next time.............
No comments:
Post a Comment