The Proverbs 31 Super Woman

After reading Proverbs 31:10-31 I feel like I am one sandwich short of a picnic. I know this passage of scripture is important because it is talking to me, a woman, and is saying how I am to live my life, It also comes straight from God’s word. The Proverbs 31 woman is like the Jennifer Anniston of the entertaiment industry – everyone woman wants to be her and every man wants to be with her. I mean I can get the Rachel haircut, but can I get encompass the spirit of her personality?
But how am I supposed to live up to this ideal woman when I can’t grasp what the verses are saying? Seeking wool and flax, making bed coverings, not eating the bread of idleness – does this apply to me? Can I get flax at Target? I can’t sew and I have no idea if I eat bread that is idle – I eat a lot of bread and I'm ususally eating it while being idle on my couch so does this count? After a little research and a quick prayer for clarity, I started to break this passage down.
I started at the beginning again and this time I didn’t get any farther than the first verse.
Proverbs 31:10 reads ‘An excellent wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.’
Wow - now this takes me back to the best piece of advice I ever received as a teenage girl.
It started out with a crush. We were both juniors, I was in high school and he was in college. After a few weeks of knowing him, he stopped by to see me at work and introduced me to his FIANCEE!! I was bummed to say the least, but once I knew dating him was off the table, I really started paying attention to the advice and encouragement he had been giving me all along. His motive was purely to help me grow in Christ and although I don’t even remember his name, the one simple thing he told me still sticks in my mind today.
“Every man is looking for a Godly woman”
Excellent wife – more precious than jewels – are you following me people? (Ok now I’m just copying Beth Moore!!)
Hmmm, a Godly woman. Ok, my dad is a pastor…it’s in my blood to be a Godly woman right? Yeah we all know what they say about pasors kids though.
These words followed me everywhere - the rest of high school, college and my single working years after college. Every man I dated I knew was not the one because they were definitely not looking for a Godly woman!! When I finally met my husband at of all places, a club called The Lava Lounge, being a Godly woman had been placed on the back burner. I was 23 and all my friends were married and starting families after having earned their MRS in college. A night out with friends from work turned in to a God given chance encounter with a man who actually was looking for a Godly woman! And of all places at a dark night club with lamps glowing with neon lava!! He was playing the part of wing man that night for his best friend. I was playing the part of girl who did not know which direction she was headed. The Bible tells stories of God using the weak and let me tell you, I had the T-shirt!! I had no direction and a million wrong paths facing me. I had made choices I knew were wrong – nothing major – but definitely not along the path of the righteous. And then God blessed me with a Godly man who to this day encourages me to be a Godly woman - a Proverbs 31 woman. (Who apparently likes to shop just like me, but we’ll get in to that next week).
I would encourage you to read Proverbs 31 for what it is but don’t be discouraged by it. I’m a music lover and I love when a song comes around with powerful lyrics that just say it all. The song that describes the essence of who I am in it’s title ‘Free to be Me’ by Francesca Battistelli also sums up how I felt when faced with living up to the Proverbs 31 woman.
The lyrics say:
Got a couple bumps in my fender, I’ve got a couple rips in my jeans,
Trying to put the pieces together, perfection is my enemy
On my own I’m so clumsy, but on your shoulders I can see
I’m free to be me

Don’t try to be a Proverbs 31 woman in one week, it is something you should strive to be throughout your lifetime.
Thanks for reading!