10 Steps to Being the Proverbs 31 Woman

It is my desire to become everything that Proverbs 31 calls me to be. It is also my desire to win the lottery (even though I don’t PLAY the lottery). There are days when I think my chances for both are about even.

Last night was one of those times. It was a long day and my husband was going through a “time.” My head had been hurting most of the day and I just couldn’t seem to find the inspiration to do what I knew needed to be done. The kids were fired up from a night playing at church. The LAST thing I wanted was a reminder that I was still falling short.

I was tempted to just skip my nightly Proverbs reading (which just happened to be Proverbs 31) after all I HAD done my afternoon devotional late and I HAD added my women’s study. Surely that was enough.

It was time to push myself a little farther. I picked up my devotional bible and opened to the bookmark that holds my nightly reading. The night was actually quiet for my study time. The baby was already asleep, the boys were in separate places reading and my husband was sitting on the porch so there was no television noise filtering through the room.

The words came to me in a little different form this time around. Instead of just seeing the image of a woman from hundreds of years back, I saw me. Questions began to rise. What was I willing to do – actively – to become the woman I was reading about and aimed to be?

• What actions and words would I have the next day that would let my husband know I meant him good? How could I be an encouragement in his life?

• What can I do with my hands that will make our life better?

• How can I present food for my family? Will I cook, keep the groceries stocked or plan a menu that can be followed by any of us?

• Will I be willing to wake up before the sun so that I have time with the Father?

• What actions can I take right now to help me be a better steward over the things, finances and other gifts that God has given to me and to my family?

• How can I present myself so that I am a testimony to my husband – getting dressed each day so that I look nice, keeping myself healthy and fit and having a good attitude about him and about our life?

• What can I create, do or manage that will provide additional income to our home?

• What words am I speaking and what do those words say about my view of my husband, children and future?

• Would I be willing to come to me for help, advice or an example?

• Am I being a blessing to my family so that they rise up and call me blessed?

These are just ten steps that I fully believe will guide me to be the Proverbs 31 woman that I have desired for so long. Not a single one of them is easy. Most of them require that I put “self” aside and on the people and things around me. Some of them require that I change my existing habits to do or be more for God and for others. All of them are ordained by God so that I can fulfill His purposes and walk boldly in His blessings.
I went to bed thinking differently than I had been just a few minutes before. My focus was not on the things that I had done but on the things that I could do if I just stepped out a little farther. The road is not easy, but at least it is simple – set out for me in black and white. All I have to do is follow God’s lead and the rest will fall into place.