That woman

I stuck my half-full coffee mug in the microwave for a third time. Never mind it was almost noon. I was determined it wouldn’t go to waste.

“Mommy, we’re hungry. Is it lunchtime yet?”

Lunchtime? Are you kidding me? I just put away the last dish from breakfast.

I looked out over the living room, cluttered with toys and clothes and tiny shoes galore. And then down at my housecoat, which I’d yet to remove since I’d crawled out of bed.

T-minus five hours, and my husband would be home. Assuming no one caught him on the way out.

There was still laundry in the dryer. A basketful next to the washing machine. The dishwasher cycle had half an hour left, and if I didn’t get the ingredients into the Crock Pot before then, dinner wouldn’t be ready on time.

I still had a few phone calls to attempt. A stack of mail to sort through. A pending school lesson, a cluster of blog posts rolling around in my head, and oh yes, three days’ worth of a Bible study to catch up.

“How does she do it?” The microwave sounded, my coffee warmed for, hopefully, the final time. “How does she accomplish so much? I’ll never live up to her standard.”

You know who I’m talking about. The Proverbs 31 woman.

I flipped open my Bible to the page and read the verses once again.

This woman is busy. Apparently, all the time. Working at home and away from home. She’s shopping and planning. Cooking and making. Trading and earning. And frankly, by the end of the list, it’s easy to look at her and feel far more inadequate than encouraged.

But what we don’t realize is that a sentence in scripture can equal decades of time. Between flipping from the last page of the Old Testament to the first page of the New Testament, we pass over 400 years.

And the same goes with our lives. Our time is marked with seasons. There will be seasons for planting and seasons for reaping. Seasons of work and seasons of rest. Seasons of success and seasons of failure. And if we’re wise, we’ll take the lessons from each season and apply them as we go forward.

And so this woman, this noble and excellent lady, is not all of these things each and every day. Rather, she is a description of the development of a Christ follower over time.

Instead of a perfect snapshot, we see a timeline of what God can accomplish through a woman who fears and honors His name.

Because we will not be all things at any given point in time. It’s impossible. Only God can do that.

But if we look back over the list, reading each line for the heart of the verse rather than the task that’s accomplished, here’s what we see.

A good woman.

Trustworthy.

A seeker.

A worker.

A provider.

A planner.

Strong.

Prepared.

Generous.

Attentive.

Respectable.

Dignified.

Wise.

Faithful.

Watchful.

Blessed.

Fears the Lord.

And I don’t know about you, my friend, but that list gives me great relief. I may not be buying fields, planting vineyards, sewing up bedding for my family or stitching fashionable sashes for merchants. But with the Lord’s help, I can find myself amongst these traits every now and then.

Not all in one day, mind you.

But one day at a time. And my prayers is that at the end of my timeline, I’ll be able to look back and see a life marked with productivity. A life that not only blessed others, but more importantly reflected Christ.