Who, me?

Her children stand and bless her.
      Her husband praises her:
 “There are many virtuous and capable women in the world,
      but you surpass them all!”
 Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last;
      but a woman who fears the Lord will be greatly praised.
 Reward her for all she has done.
      Let her deeds publicly declare her praise.

Proverbs 31:28-31

I used to hate reading this passage in the bible. Only a man could describe such a perfect woman. She sounds like the kind of woman I could never be. She sounds like the woman that other women have a hard time being friends with. It would be too difficult to measure up to a friend like her.

But this woman is only an ideal. This fictional woman doesn’t exist exactly as she is written. What is not written about this woman is that she has low moments, temptations, distractions, hormones and bad hair days. Just like you an me! Yet an entire chapter is devoted to this accomplished woman. Hard not to be jealous, huh.

Well, guess what…God sees us as that woman. He knows who and what we could be, and always looks at us through the eyes of great love—despite out shortcomings, failures and bad moods. When we see a haggard, frazzled woman who is always one step behind, He sees a woman of value—“more precious than rubies” (v. 10).

We can’t be this woman in all aspects every day of the week, but if we set our hearts toward pleasing God, we will gather in her attributes. In fact, we may be even a bit more wonderful. After all, she didn’t have to run the kids to soccer practice, bake cakes for the fundraiser at school, fight the crowds at Walmart, change all the batteries in Johnny’s electric toys, put up and take down all the Christmas decorations….well, you get my point.

So give yourself some credit and a break. You don’t have to be the Proverbs 31 woman 24/7, and God loves you even when you fail at it. Keep your eye on the prize of God’s eternal love and mercy, and when you see Him face to face, you won’t be ashamed.