The PROVERBS 31 Wife, A Fuller Glimpse (Part 2)

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If you joined us last week, you learned that we are spending time taking a fuller glimpse of the Proverbs 31 Wife. I’d like to encourage you to check out part one, if you haven’t already, entitled, The Proverbs 31 Wife, A Fuller Glimpse: My Farewell to Age 31(Part 1) .  

So, just who is the Proverbs 31 Wife and who decided on these attributes that define a “noble wife”? 

Last week I shared that I’ve been enjoying the Tony Evans Study Bible.  What’s most helpful about it is that there is guided commentary along the way that explains the context of the scripture.  I’m no bible scholar, so I appreciate this supportive text.  Dr. Evans explains that the attributes that we find in Proverbs 31, are being taught by King Lemuel.  He explains that there isn’t much information in the bible about this king, but that the wife of noble character was imparted onto King Lemuel by his mother.  

What we see written in scripture is the king delivering jewels of knowledge from his dear mother.  I would imagine that for him to share this guidance with the masses, he must have had a great deal of love and respect for his mother and her instruction.  Thanks Momma Lemuel for your wisdom! 

I find this heartwarming; I pray that my son also treasures the wise counsel I pass to him along the way. I pray that one day when he’s ready, he will seek a woman who is godly and displays the attributes we see in the Proverbs 31 Wife. 

THE PROVERBS 31 WIFE: 

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Last week as we reviewed the first set of attributes, I struggled to identify with a few characteristics.  However, as we dig into more of her qualities this week, I’m seeing more glimpses of myself.  I hope you are too mommas!

Let’s take a fuller glimpse into the Proverbs 31 Wife:

1) She is Business Minded: Whether she works as a stay-at-home-mom or outside the home as an accountant, the Proverbs 31 wife is a resourceful business woman. She’s considerate of the best choices to make in tending to her and her family’s daily and future needs.  This means she’s proficient in managing the research of the best and most affordable diaper rash cream, all while preparing to lead a sales call for her company the next morning.  (Starting to sound like someone you know? Maybe you!?)

2) She’s Energetic: Ok, so this one kind of threw me for a loop, because if you’re like me you may often want to scream, “Honey, I’m tired!”  I’m there with you, mommas!  However, I feel that when the scripture says that the noble wife is ‘energetic’ what it means is that she seeks the Lord for endurance.  I remember when my daily schedule included working full-time, picking the baby up from day care, giving him full on energetic play-time, giving my husband his time, then walking downstairs to work on my school work for my degree… I was all sorts of tired, yet I would whisper to the Lord all day for the energy to do the next thing.  The Proverbs 31 Wife’s energy is a faithful trusting and reliance on the Lord. 

3) Strong & Hardworking: It doesn’t need to be spoken, but I’ll say it anyways, Mommas are STRONG! No explanation needed there, and we’re also hardworking just like the Proverbs 31 Wife.  Think about it, I’ll bet that even before you left your bed this morning you did the hard work of planning and problem solving for the day right there in your mind.  Today my thoughts this morning in bed went something like this, “Ok, we have a vet appointment for the dog to make sure he doesn’t have a UTI; poor guy’s been peeing everywhere.  Are there dishes in the sink? I should probably do those first.  Darn it! I left the little guy’s clothes in the washing machine last night, gotta rewash those too.  Did the hub need anything from the store?  Maybe I should ask.” …. I think you get the picture here.  Without a doubt, both the Proverbs 31 Wife, as well as you, are strong and hardworking. 

4) She Helps Those in Need: As moms and wives, our schedules are not usually full of empty spaces.  So, to help someone else in need may sound like work we can’t add to our plate… but the Lord allows the room for it.  This attribute centers on one word, ‘empathy’.  It’s helping your friend who can’t find a babysitter, driving hours to visit a girlfriend who’s lonely, cooking dinner for a new mom, or even sending a quick text of encouragement.  I’ve been helped by fellow moms and women in each of these ways and I’m betting you have too: remember to pay it forward mommas. 

THIS WEEK’S CHALLENGE: 

Last week, we selected one attribute that we wanted to hone into and challenged ourselves to improve on that characteristic throughout the week. This week, I’d like us to select one of the traits above that we feel is our strongest quality.  Maybe you know that you’re great at helping others and thrive in that skillset, give yourself credit for it! 

Once we identify our strength from above, let’s spend 5 minutes writing about it.  

Research shows that self-affirmation through writing helps with stress relief, improved academic performance, and elevates general well-being (Cascio et al, 2016). 

As we spend our 5 minutes of writing, search through the following questions: 

• Which characteristic identified is my strongest asset? 
• How does this positively impact my marriage? 
• How does this positively impact my children?
• How does this positively impact my overall well-being with life?
• How does this bring glory to God?

APPLICABLE SCRIPTURE: 

Proverbs 31: 16- 20

As I review this week’s focused attributes I see a common theme: the wife of noble character is family and kingdom minded.  She gives her energy to strategically tending to the needs of her family and business needs, and even finds the strength to help others.  More and more I’m realizing that the Proverbs 31 wife does exist…. Have you begun to find her?  

Join me next week for part 3 as we continue to glimpse further into these attributes.  Thanks for chatting with me as we share REAL LIFE, FROM ONE MOM TO ANOTHER. 

References: Cascio, C. N., O’Donnell, M. B., Tinney, F. J., Lieberman, M. D., Taylor, S. E., Strecher, V. J., & Falk, E. B. (2016). Self-affirmation activates brain systems associated with self-related processing and reward and is reinforced by future orientation. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 11(4). doi: 10.1093/scan/nsv136