A Christian friend once shocked me by saying
she didn’t think Proverbs 31was a relevant example
for Christian women in the 80’s to follow.
She felt this woman was only
successfully accomplished because she had servants.
When I finally caught my breath,
rolled my tongue back in my mouth,
and got my eyebrows down from the ceiling,
I only had two arguments in reply.
Proverbs 31 is an encouragement and an example
for all women because the Bible is timeless.
My second argument was that we DO have servants…
electrical ones…
dishwasher
washer
dryer
iron
air-conditioning
refridgerator
stove
microwave
sewing machine
running water
Anything the Proverbs 31 woman accomplished with a servant
we accomplish by machine.
We have servants.
Rebekah loves “The Olden Days.”
She spends hours dressing up and pretending scenarios
from times passed.
It was laundry day and she wanted to use our little washboard.
A bit blurry through the screen window,
but you can see the Old-Fashioned apron she’s wearing.
She was so excited that the ridges on the washboard
really helped her scrub the chocolate stain out of the front of her shirt.
I can imagine the women in the early 1800’s felt the same thrill
when their husbands bought them this new amazing tool,
a servant to make their household duties easier.
(By the way, The Sloppy Gene,
the one where you spill anything guaranteed to stain
down the front of your shirt, is from her father’s side of the gene pool.)
She loved this so much, she washed all her clothes.
She hung them on the deck on the drying rack.
For years I had my Gramma Geneva’s drying rack,
and when it broke beyond repair,
I could hardly bear to throw it out.
A drying rack always made me think about my Gramma,
now I have a new memory to add to that page in my mind.
And almost 20 years after the initial conversation
about the relevance of Proverbs 31 for the modern woman,
I have even greater conviction.
Is the Proverbs 31 woman an attainable goal for us in 2011?
Physically? Absolutely.
We have more gadgets and greater availability of supplies.
Spiritually? Absolutely.
In the age of grace we have
the best spiritual tools available~~
the risen, ascended Christ,
the complete inspired Word of God,
the indwelling Holy Spirit,
and 6,000 years of examples lived before us.
We don’t have to dream and pretend,
becoming a Proverbs 31 Woman is an attainable goal,
for us modern women of the 21st Century.
I enjoyed this post Mindy. Your daughter is such a gem.
I enjoyed this post Mindy. Your daughter is such a gem.
I know a man that uses the Proverbs 31 chapter to say that women should be out in the work force. =/ Little Beka is a hard worker! So neat to see her cheerfully working at such a hard task at such a young age. She will be a good Proverbs 31 lady someday. 🙂
I know a man that uses the Proverbs 31 chapter to say that women should be out in the work force. =/ Little Beka is a hard worker! So neat to see her cheerfully working at such a hard task at such a young age. She will be a good Proverbs 31 lady someday. 🙂
I'm not arguing with you, I think the Prov. 31 women is very relevant. But the interesting thing about all our modern "servants" is that they actually make more work for us, not less (they've actually done studies on this). For example, before washing machines each person had a lot fewer clothes to wash. Anyway, what I've always wondered about this guy, the Proverbs 31 husband. He's in there, but nobody talks about him.
I'm not arguing with you, I think the Prov. 31 women is very relevant. But the interesting thing about all our modern "servants" is that they actually make more work for us, not less (they've actually done studies on this). For example, before washing machines each person had a lot fewer clothes to wash. Anyway, what I've always wondered about this guy, the Proverbs 31 husband. He's in there, but nobody talks about him.
My 3rd grader loves the very same thing. Have you seen the Sisters in Time books? They are going out of print but they are AWESOME. They follow the lives of young girls in different time periods, and each one is historically accurate. They each also work in a Christian perspective.
My 3rd grader loves the very same thing. Have you seen the Sisters in Time books? They are going out of print but they are AWESOME. They follow the lives of young girls in different time periods, and each one is historically accurate. They each also work in a Christian perspective.
Thnak you for sharing this. I love how you explained this. Great take on the Proverbs woman. Very interesting andtimely.
Thnak you for sharing this. I love how you explained this. Great take on the Proverbs woman. Very interesting andtimely.