The Proverbs 31 Woman

This morning at church, George continued teaching on the book of 1st John. His theme was being known as a Christian all the time. Whether we are at the market, at home, at church, walking in our neighborhood, the people around us should see how we love Jesus. We show that by loving and helping others.

(George and Eli with some cute little girls from church. Faith, the one next to him is so funny and adorable. I want to take her home.)

In the afternoon, we returned to church for the discipleship class and women's group. Because he taught on the passage in the morning, George spent more time on application at this meeting. He led the group in a discussion of helping others. Last time he challenged them to help someone in need and each person shared with the group how they did with that task.

Once the class was finished, the ladies remained for our discussion group. We began by going over our homework which was to read Proverbs 31:10-31, which talks about the virtues of a Godly wife. And… wow… what a woman! Among her characteristics are:

Trustworthy
Resourceful
Wakes up early and goes to bed late
Prepared for any season
Organized
Plans ahead
Good with money
Energetic
Strong
Kind
Wise
Hard worker
Busy with her hands
Skilled at sewing
Helps the poor and needy
Doesn’t fear the future
Not lazy
Keeps an eye on her household
Blessed by her children
Praised by her husband

I was very inspired by this woman. I am not this woman, but hope to be someday. I was especially impressed with how hard she works. That led to our discussion of work we do as women.

I was curious what an average day is like for them so each of the women gave us an example of their typical day. All of them woke up early – around 5:00am and began a day filled with work: Making tea, lunch, dinner, dishes, laundry, taking care of the children, cleaning the house, etc. Some of them went to a job while others worked in the home. Each began and ended the day with prayer and Bible reading.

Girls begin working in the home at a very young age. By seven or eight, they can cook a full meal. Most girls that age know how to cook way better than I do! Children help take care of the younger children in the home. This little girl, Teddy, helped her mom take care of her brother all during the church service. Whenever he got fussy, Teddy came to the rescue.

Hard work, especially physical labor and working with their hands seems so natural to them. It’s their “normal” from the day they are born. I wondered if they ever get cranky, tired or feel unappreciated. YES! They answered. Ok, so they aren’t the wonder women I imagined them to be… well, actually they are, but they also have normal feelings too.

So, what do we do when we are cranky and feel underappreciated? We pray they Lord gives us strength and joy. After all, we are working for the Lord above all and He sees all we do.

(1 Cor. 15:58 “So my dear brothers and sisters, be strong and immovable. Always work enthusiastically for the Lord for you know nothing you do for the Lord is ever useless.” Colossians 3:23 “Work willingly at whatever you do as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people.”)

Although the Proverbs 31 woman is married, we agreed that we can apply her characteristics even if we aren’t married. Being a Godly single woman is just as important. It was an interesting discussion. At times, the ladies are still shy, but other times they won’t stop talking! I have found that if I leave it open for talking, it’s quiet. But if we go around in a circle and everyone shares, they will talk a lot. Our time together has been fun. I think the ladies haven gone away feeling encouraged and not so alone in their struggles.

We closed with some prayer requests and the homework assignment – think about Christmas and what it means to you. Be prepared to share that with the group next week. Since next Sunday is two days before Christmas, we invited both groups to our house for some tea and fellowship. We can’t wait!