A Virtuous Woman
We’ve all read the story of the Virtuous woman in Proverbs 31. This woman truly is amazing. She works with her hands. She takes care of her husband. She makes sure that her family has plenty to eat and are clothed. Her hands are not ever idle. She is constantly doing things for her family and her home. What she doesn’t need, she sells. She is wise and kind and she praises the Lord. Her children and her husband praise her.
I wish that I could be this virtuous woman but the truth is I am not. I don’t even come close. The people who I work with would say that I am a hard worker. They don’t know me at home. I work hard at work because other people depend on me. Other people are watching.
At home I am comfortable. Only my children and husband are watching. They love me despite all of my flaws. Ofcourse I do all of the things that they need me to do, but I slack on things that I think are less important. I am not the greatest house keeper at all. I frequently go to bed with the kitchen dirty although I know it’s just going to be harder to clean in the morning.
My living room has toys and baby blankets thrown about and the furniture only gets dusted when I see it really needs it. My pictures and fans get dusted maybe once a year when I’m feeling an extra kick of energy. It’s also the catch all.Everyone’s junk is piled up eveywhere. My bedroom door is closed most of the time. Incase a visitor drops in, I don’t want them to see the laundry baskets full of clothes that I have yet to put away. We have a basket of socks that never gets matched. Everyone knows when they can’t find socks for the day to go to the sock basket. The floors get mopped when I see the need and have time to do it. My bathroom is a horror story. 5 people share a house that has one bathroom. It gets pretty messy, pretty quick. I have a utility basement that I will admit I haven’t stepped foot in, for months. I know it’s filthy down there and could use a good cleaning but, I just don’t have the time to worry with it. Besides, nobody ever sees it.
It’s not that I don’t see all the filth or even that I don’t care about it. Trust me, I see it. I really want to be a better housekeeper. I spend lots of time making cleaning schedules and I swear I’m going to stick to them. That only lasts a couple of weeks until we are back to living in filth.
I just cannot keep up. I don’t understand how others do. I try to tell myself that I just don’t have the time. That atleast my kids are happy and healthy and I spend a lot of time with them. They are only little for a while, I need to enjoy their childhood. There will be plenty of time to clean house when they are grown.
I am reminded in the story of a virtuous woman, that her hands Are never idle. My hands are idle quite a bit. I actually do have all the time to accomplish the things I should, but instead I sit and I procrastinate. I spend more time than I need to, just resting and little time actually getting things done. I let them build up so much that I dread doing them. Although I know that if I just got up and done them when they needed to be done, it would have been much easier.
I long to be a virtuous woman. I want to be a woman who gets things done not only at work but also at home. I want to be someone my kids can look up to. Someone that is not lazy or lacking in anyway. A woman who has it all together all the time. Who takes care of her own, and also others. Who never shows her flaws and is always loving and kind. Most of all, I want to be a good Christian woman. A woman who turns to God, a woman who only speaks good and never evil. A woman who doesn’t let a cuss word slip out in moments of frustration.
Wife and Mother are two of my most important titles. I must remember that the absolute most important title is daughter. Not the daughter of Pam and Buddy, but the daughter of THE MOST HIGH! As a daughter of our Father in heaven, everything I do should honor him. Everything is for His glory not my own. I should treat everything I do as work for him. Not only at church or ministries, also in my home, and at my job. I am His, and everything I do should reflect Him. Everything we do is the Lords work. Everything is given by Him. Ofcourse being a wife and a mother are important. I can be a better wife and mother if I’m following Him.
I want my children to think of me as a virtuous woman. I want to be a good example for them. I want them to grow up and be virtuous people. I will likely never be as virtuous as the woman in Proverbs however, I can take steps that will get me closer. I can never do it all alone. I must rely on help from the Lord through prayer. I pray that he creates in me a pure heart that only wants to follow him. That he will direct my paths and convict me where I am not doing right, and show me how I can be better.
Leave a Reply