Finding your Passion... Encouragement from the Proverbs 31 woman
"Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is worth more than precious rubies. Her husband can trust her and she will greatly enrich his life. She will not hinder him but help him all her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant ship; she brings her food from afar. She gets up before dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plan the day's work for her servant girls. She goes out to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard.She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She watches for bargains, her lights burn late into the night. Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms to the needy. She has no fear of winter for her household because all of them have warm clothes. She quilts her own bedspreads. She dresses like royalty in gowns of the finest cloth. Her husband is well known, for he sits in the council meeting with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell tot the merchants. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs with no fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise and kindness is the rule when she gives instructions. She carefully watches all that goes on in her household and does not have to bear the consequences of laziness." Proverbs 31
There are many opinions about the Proverbs 31 woman. Was she an actual woman, was she an ideal, was she a description? There is one thing that is a sure bet about her though. She was a woman with purpose and passion. She knew her strengths and weaknesses. She was confident in them. She had found things that she was passionate about and was doing them to benefit her family. The Proverbs 31 woman was producing. She was making garments and sashes and selling them. She was inspecting fields and buying them, planting vineyards. She was a business woman. She was an entrepreneur, working for herself, on her own schedule. Her husband was the provider, but she was contributing in her own way. She wasn't isolated in her home, she was a member of the community. She knew who she was...
I've long struggled with this aspect of the Proverbs 31 woman. The passage doesn't say how old her children are, it only alludes to her family. It does say she has "servant girls". When our kids were small, the idea of contributing beyond making sure we were all alive at the end of the day was overwhelming. Today's stay at home mom's are expected to do it all ... by themselves. Mom's are made to feel ashamed in asking for help, seeking childcare or not being able to do it all on their own. The Proverbs 31 woman HIRED help! She had servants to help her clean, care for her children and run the day to day tasks for her family. She did the things she was best at and that only she could do and delegated the rest. What a relief that is!
Having help allowed her the time and freedom to figure out who she was. She could try things until she found what she LOVED and then used those skills to help others and help provide income to pay for the help she needed. I wonder what that process looked like for her, what it looks like for others... Was she surprised by her talents, where some obvious and others not so much? Did she stumble on it or did she always know? How old was she when she discovered her talents?
Some of my strengths (and most of my weaknesses) have been with me since birth. I was born a first child, the leader. I have always been super organized and type "A". Some things have come more slowly. My artistic side has had to be honed and discovered slowly. It is developing into something that can be used. It has not been natural and is a surprise. But it is going to be used!
How about you? Where do you need to ask for help from others? What are your strengths you can use to help others and your family, to extend God's kingdom? Do you have a talent that you have recently discovered? Let's go on the journey together... it takes a village!
There are many opinions about the Proverbs 31 woman. Was she an actual woman, was she an ideal, was she a description? There is one thing that is a sure bet about her though. She was a woman with purpose and passion. She knew her strengths and weaknesses. She was confident in them. She had found things that she was passionate about and was doing them to benefit her family. The Proverbs 31 woman was producing. She was making garments and sashes and selling them. She was inspecting fields and buying them, planting vineyards. She was a business woman. She was an entrepreneur, working for herself, on her own schedule. Her husband was the provider, but she was contributing in her own way. She wasn't isolated in her home, she was a member of the community. She knew who she was...
I've long struggled with this aspect of the Proverbs 31 woman. The passage doesn't say how old her children are, it only alludes to her family. It does say she has "servant girls". When our kids were small, the idea of contributing beyond making sure we were all alive at the end of the day was overwhelming. Today's stay at home mom's are expected to do it all ... by themselves. Mom's are made to feel ashamed in asking for help, seeking childcare or not being able to do it all on their own. The Proverbs 31 woman HIRED help! She had servants to help her clean, care for her children and run the day to day tasks for her family. She did the things she was best at and that only she could do and delegated the rest. What a relief that is!
Having help allowed her the time and freedom to figure out who she was. She could try things until she found what she LOVED and then used those skills to help others and help provide income to pay for the help she needed. I wonder what that process looked like for her, what it looks like for others... Was she surprised by her talents, where some obvious and others not so much? Did she stumble on it or did she always know? How old was she when she discovered her talents?
Some of my strengths (and most of my weaknesses) have been with me since birth. I was born a first child, the leader. I have always been super organized and type "A". Some things have come more slowly. My artistic side has had to be honed and discovered slowly. It is developing into something that can be used. It has not been natural and is a surprise. But it is going to be used!
How about you? Where do you need to ask for help from others? What are your strengths you can use to help others and your family, to extend God's kingdom? Do you have a talent that you have recently discovered? Let's go on the journey together... it takes a village!
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