I was paging through a notebook of mine, searching for some spare blank space, and came across some Scripture verses I'd written down a while back. Something I like to do is practice penmanship, and what better way to practice than with the extensive, unlimited Scripture verses that I normally ingest much more easily than when I'm just reading them?
That said... a favorite of mine to write out is the last Proverbs chapter on the Wife of Noble Character or the Virtuous Wife.
I am not a knowledgeable priest, nor a scholarly seminarian, and hardly a theologian, but I just wanted to share my thoughts on what it means to me to strive to be that wife portrayed so beautifully in Proverbs.
It is not an easy calling to be a good wife. A GOOD wife. Sure, just about anyone can be a wife. But I want to be more than that. I want to strive to be what God esteems as this Wife of Noble Character.
"Who will find a courageous wife? For such a one is more valuable than precious stones."
Just the first two sentences sum it up for me.
"The heart of her husband trusts in her. She will not be at a loss for fine spoils, for she provides good things for her husband all her life."
This is truly poetry... the heart of her husband trusts in her - he does not have a worry because his wife is a capable, strong woman.
"She weaves wool and linen cloth and is productive with her hands. She is like a ship trading afar off, so she procures her livelihood."
What I get from this is that a noble wife takes the initiative when she sees an opportunity - she doesn't need anyone to tell her what to do - and she is creative with it, utilizing her talents to do something good and useful for her household, for others, for her family.
"She also rises before dawn and gives food to her household and appoints tasks for her maidservants."
I'm working on the getting up early part, and can already see why this is such a wonderful habit to get into. There is such an accomplished feeling being up before one's child(ren), preparing your mind and body for the day, getting things done, and being entirely ready for them when they wake up. And, seeing as I don't and most likely never will have "maidservants," my thought is that the last bit here could mean there is importance and value in being skilled at delegating. For me, this will certainly include being a successful homeschooling mom who can motivate her children well.
"Seeing a farm, she buys it, and from the fruits of her hands she plants her plot of land."
Again, seizing an opportunity, but with careful consideration... she is wise and hard-working.
"Strongly girding her loins, she strengthens her arms for work. She experiences work as a good thing, and her lamp is not quenched all night. She extends her arms to do profitable things, and she applies her hands to the spindle."
She is capable - physically strong and competent. I certainly need to work on this one. "Her lamp is not quenched all night." Even when she could be resting in the darkness of the evening, she works by the light of her lamp. She doesn't cease her work until it is finished. She has patience, determination, and self-control.
"She opens her hands to the poor and reaches out with her fruit to the needy."
She is a giving and kind woman. She seeks the needs of others and fills them with her generosity.
"Her husband is not anxious about those at home when he spends a long time elsewhere, for all her household are clothed."
This wife is not a needy woman. She is not a child. She is a true woman, who needs no reassurance in the good of her hard work. She is self-sufficient and able to look after her household when her husband is absent. (Not to say that she is fulfilled without her husband, but meaning that she is not useless without him there.)
"She makes a double upper garment for her husband and garments of fine linen and purple for herself. Her husband is respected at the gates and when he sits in council with the elders who inhabit the land. She makes and sells fine linens and girdles to the Canaanites."
She is an industrial woman - practical, skilled and creative. She is good with her hands.
"She opens her mouth carefully and lawfully and controls her tongue. She clothes herself with strength and dignity and rejoices in the last days. She runs her household carefully, and she does not eat the bread of idleness. She opens her mouth wisely and lawfully, and her charity raises her children, and they become rich, and her husband praises her, "Many daughters acquire riches; many do mighty things, but you excel and surpass them all." Desires to please are deceitful, and the beauty of a wife is vain; for a wise wife is blessed, and let her in fear praise the Lord. Give to her from the fruits of her hands, and let her husband praise her at the gates."
Oh to be worthy of such praise! What a calling we have, as wives striving to be godly and dutiful! This wonderful illustration of what it looks like to be such a God fearing wife is certainly no small ambition to achieve.
I have several models of women in my life who exemplify what it means to be this Proverbs 31 wife. They are my real life examples. To my mother, my husband's mother, all of my married sisters, and my many dear married friends - you all teach me how to become a more godly and devoted wife to my husband, step by step, in little ways, (though you may not realize it), and your examples are very admired and looked up to. You inspire me, as does the example given to us all in the Wife of Noble Character, to have the courage and strength to be a worthy wife.
Here's the Quote of the Day: (It's a favorite of mine...)
"Nothing is more powerful than a pious and sensible woman to bring her husband into proper order, and to mold his soul as she wills. For he will not listen to friends, or teachers, or rulers as much as he will his partner advising and counseling him, since the advice carries some pleasures with it, because she who gives the counsel is greatly loved."
~ St. John Chrysostom (a quote from "Preserve Them, O Lord" by Fr. John Mack)
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