A Godly Woman?

What does it mean to be a woman of God?

So many different demands on my day.  So many different messages.  You need to be a "full" person - have a career, have a hobby, do something for yourself.  Yeah, right.  When, exactly?  Spend time in prayer, reading the Bible, exercising.  You bet.

I am a wife, and helpmeet.  I keep the house, plan the meals for my man (whose dietary needs change on a regular basis), play nurse, update business records, and do finances.

I am a mother.  The peacemaker.  The one who balances the emotional needs of eight different people.  I comfort, solve conflicts, teach, plan lessons, get snacks, make meals, clean up, play nurse some more, and make sure there is a time/place for at least a little exercise while living in a 33 foot RV.

Today, I was awake at 7:00 AM.  It is 10:45 PM when the demands on me are done (until my husband is ready for me to bandage his foot), and I can spend a few minutes doing what I want to do.

Hobby?  Hmmm... I know!  I can crochet while we drive to the next piano tuning appointment.

Bible?  If the morning goes halfway decently, I can incorporate it into the beginning of our homeschool time.  Most of the time, I'm frantically trying to get breakfast, clean up from breakfast, take care of the this and thats, while calling over my shoulder to squabbling children that they need to start their schoolwork.  After which, I'm playing catch up checking their schoolwork, reading instructions to the beginning readers and having them read to me, and, hopefully, getting a little instruction in to my pre-reader while fending off the bored two-year-old who wants to play.  When things finally settle down enough that I can actually do Bible with the kids, David is coming out from his appointment, and we're rushing to the next appointment... where it's time to make lunch, and clean up etc.

Prayer?  We do that on the fly.

Career/self-fulfillment?  You're joking, right?  My career is my children.  The closest thing I get to self-fulfillment is this blog... which you may notice only gets posted once in a while.

Understand, I am not complaining.  Not really. I'm just saying... I don't seem to fit with the examples I've seen held up of "godly" women.

Don't get me wrong.  I love the Elizabeth Eliots.  I truly admire these women who get up at 5:00 AM so that they can have their prayer/Bible time.  I've tried, but I can't.  I'm just too tired.  Does that make me an ungodly woman?  A bad Christian?

Let's see... I go to Proverbs 31, THE chapter on what a  woman should be and do.  Yep, there it is...  Proverbs 31:15  "She rises while it is yet night and"  reads her Bible and prays and... wait a minute, she isn't praying... or studying... or ... you name it.  She "giveth meat to her household..."  The woman is fixing breakfast!  I do that.  Her prayer time must be in another verse.  Let's see...

Vs. 11  "The heart of her husband doth safely trust in her..."  I can vouch for that.  I may not be the best wife ever... but my husband thinks I am.  He knows that I may not do everything right, but I will always be there for him, and I will keep his secrets (as long as I know they are secrets), and I will never knowingly betray him.  I can do this verse.

Vs. 13 "She seeketh wool and flax and worketh willingly with her hands."  I don't know about the wool and flax, but I do work a lot with my hands.  My failure as a Christian woman must be in a later verse.

Vs. 14  "She bringeth her food from afar."  I'm not sure that applies to today... unless the Japanese noodles I picked up at Uwajimaya count.  Or oranges from California, and bananas from wherever they grow bananas. :)

Vs. 15  We covered this.  I feed my family breakfast.

Vs. 16 "She considereth a field and buyeth it.  With the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."  Well, this verse isn't really a possibility right now, but I do garden whenever I am able.

Vs. 17  "She girdeth her loins with strength, she strengtheneth her arms."  Hey, look, exercising is in the Bible... or at least standing strong and not complaining.  By my interpretation, I am o.k. here.

Vs. 18 ..."her candle goeth not out by night".  Yep, I'm up all hours doing various and sundry tasks.

Vs. 19  Well, we don't usually spin our own material anymore, so I think I can skip this one... at least until we buy a farm and get some sheep.

Vs. 20  "She stretcheth out her hand to the poor, yea, she reacheth out her hands to the needy."  Um, I may be a little short here... does taking stuff to Salvation Army count?

Vs. 21  "She is not afraid of the snow for her household..."  Yes, I make sure my household has proper clothing.

Vs. 23 "Her husband is known in the gates..."  O.K. I can't control that one... except to make sure that my reputation does not tarnish his.

Vs. 26 "She openeth her mouth with wisdom, and in her tongue is the law of kindness."  This one I need to work on... but with the Lord's help, I am working on it.

Vs. 27 "She looketh well to the affairs of her household and eateth not the bread of idleness."

I think this verse says it all.  Yes, I am looking to the affairs of my household to the  best of my ability... and I do not spend much time in idleness.

There it is folks.  I am not perfect.  I do not have time to spend acting "holy", joining women's Bible studies, or various functions.  I don't have hobbies nor a lot of private time.  But I can fulfill much of what I see in Proverbs 31.  That makes me feel a little better.

I think we ladies sometimes need to encourage ourselves with what we are doing, rather than what we are not.

We need to remember:

Vs. 30  "Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but the woman who fears God, she shall be praised."

This is the most important part.  Do you love the Lord?  Do you fear God?  All else will fall into place as long as these two things are covered.

Lift up your heads, mothers.  God does not ask the impossible.  Jesus died to cover our failures.  We can praise him and strengthen our arms with the knowledge of a God who sees our needs and our efforts.  Quit looking at what others say you should do and rest in what the Word of God asks you to do.

Matthew 6:33  "Seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you."

What is the kingdom of God?  It is the place where God's will is done.  What is God's will for a woman?  After Proverbs 31, the next place to look is in Titus 2:4-5, where the Bible clearly states what is expected of a woman.  She is to learn to be "sober, love her husband, love her children, be discreet, chaste, a keeper of the home, good, and obedient to her own husband" (not someone else's or another man).  It may sound like a long list, but if taken thought by thought, is it not what we try to do anyway?  Do we not already love our husbands and children? Strive to be sober, discreet, chaste, and good?  If we are not keeping our house, who is?  The most difficult part is sometimes being obedient to our own husbands.  Yet, if we are striving to be one with our husband, obedience is not a chore because we are simply learning to want what he wants, and to line our priorities up with his.  If my goal is the same as my husband's, I am not burdened by obedience, I am simply working together with him as his helpmeet... the cause for which I was created.

What else does the Word of God ask of us?

I Thes. 5:17 "Pray without ceasing." and Philippians 4:6 "Be careful for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God".

Let's face it.  If praying had to be done on our knees without ceasing, we would all starve to death.  Our prayers can be while making dinner and doing the dishes.  Certainly there needs to be a prayer in our heart while planning lessons and working with our children.  Let Jesus be part of everything.  Keep him close to your heart as you do your daily tasks.  He will help you to be that Proverbs 31 woman.

Then, at the end of the day, go to sleep in peace, knowing that, if you were supposed to do it today, He would have helped you to do it.

Let Jesus be your strength, and your peace.  Take one day at a time.  Make sure that the tasks you set for yourself are those He asks of you; not what another places on you.  For He promised that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. (Matt. 11:30)

Take Him at His Word.

May God Bless You All,

Jules