The "capable wife" spoken of in the 31st Proverb has always been an uplifting collection of scriptures to me. Written at a time when women were generally disregarded, at best, these words stand apart. They mention a figurative woman with such beautiful, illustrative verse that it is no doubt directly from the lips of our loving creator. It makes me feel loved and honored by him. I can read it and even though this wife has always had some qualities I felt I did not possess, it was always an aspiration to me ... a woman to strive to be.
"Who can find a capable wife?
Her value is far more than that of corals."
Proverbs 31:10.
If the last 10 years of marriage have taught me anything, it's that I have learned very little. Marriage is hard hard business. Raising children is hard hard business. Maybe you have one of those perfect husbands. You know, the ones you see on Instagram and Facebook that surprised their mate with a bundle of handpicked, red roses .. for absolutely no reason whatsoever.
I don't have one of those.
I love my husband .. don't get me wrong,
but marriage is tough.
I don't have one of those.
I love my husband .. don't get me wrong,
but marriage is tough.
The apostle Paul called marriage a "tribulation of the flesh"
and he wasn't just being melodramatic!
We aren't perfect.
One thing that I HAVE learned?
We don't have the ability to make our husbands better ...
but we do have the ability to make ourselves better.
I may wish that my husband didn't leave clothes all over the floor
or that he was able to communicate better
or that he remembered to tell me when he was thinking of me.
But I do have the ability to change myself, to continue to improve.
And Jehovah gave me the perfect example to follow.
or that he was able to communicate better
or that he remembered to tell me when he was thinking of me.
But I do have the ability to change myself, to continue to improve.
And Jehovah gave me the perfect example to follow.
So, for the entire month of November,
I am going to be trying a
"31 Day Capable Wife Challenge".
Every day I will choose a stanza or two from Proverb 31, and challenge myself for the day to apply that quality. I will post daily what the challenge is to keep myself accountable and feel free to play along if you like. And, who knows, maybe in the end I will receive that bundle of handpicked red roses.