So the Proverbs 31 woman is RELIABLE, RESPONSIBLE IN WORK; ORGANIZED, ENERGETIC, INDUSTRIOUS. What does this mean? Some of you are stay at home moms, with hobbies and skills and interests galore (of course). I'm in awe of both my friends and of strangers who manage to be great moms AND keep an organized, energetic, industrious spirit about them as they work. Because it IS work. I was blessed to have a mom who stayed at home with us from the time I was born until now, and I can tell you (after 30 years and lots of enlightenment) that it was HARD WORK. The books on my mom's shelf attest to this fact: "How To Raise A Strong-Willed Child." "The Messies Guide To An Organized Home." "I'm So Tired! A Mother's Guide To Keeping It All Together." (liberties with that last title - it sort of sums up all the rest of the books on the shelf)
My mom not only stayed home with us, she also homeschooled us for several years, was a TA when we started attending a "regular" school, and was the sponsor mom on more projects than I can name. On top of that, she and my dad stayed involved in dozens of ministries at church and she volunteered her time and other resources for organizations and causes outside the home. Now, she continues to be our family's project manager, organizing and running the show, making all of our lives easier and more pleasant with her efforts. HOW? I don't know. Yet. I just hope I can do THAT job with the organization, enthusiasm, and industriousness that she does.
For now, my "work" is the traditional kind, and I hope it's preparing me for the work of a mom and a wife. On good days, I'm able to treat the work I do as preparation for the future, and to thus overcome any boredom/frustration with a Godly "big-picture" attitude. Likewise, I try to harness and enjoy the good moments by reminding myself that going all out in those situations, giving my all, brings really tangible rewards and a feeling of satisfaction to my soul. I work as an attorney/negotiator for a big bank, and my days are filled with conference calls and email chains and document review sessions. Much of the time, I enjoy it - I'm blessed with a job that taps into my natural strengths most of the time, challenges me without unduly stressing me out, and offers me incentives and motivation to keep improving. With that in mind, I may not be the best source of advice on work ethic. I admittedly do not hate my job, or my boss, or my company, or my schedule. But even I have days where I feel bored, burdened by the tasks at hand, or overwhelmed by life and work responsibilities combined. Couple that with the fact that I am not, by nature, a very organized person, and well...sometimes I worry that things are going to fall apart, or that I'm cutting corners, or that I'm not meeting expectations. I found this cute cartoon representation of how the roller-coaster ride goes, and I think you'll appreciate it. One day, a good day, we decide to take the bull by the horns. We will make everything matter, do everything with excellence, let nothing get in our way! Ever felt this way?
And then...it hits. Maybe you've been staying late at the office but your boss hasn't tossed a "you go, girl" your way in a while. Maybe your boyfriend or husband has been a permanent fixture on the couch for 3 weekends in a row while you clean toilets and weed flowerbeds. Or maybe, despite the human feedback and appreciation you HAVE received, you just feel...TIRED. Ineffective, scatterbrained, frustrated, bored. All of the sudden...
What's a girl to do when she feels this way, whether at the office or at home or both? Turn to Proverbs 31. Our "perfect" woman knows she's a princess, loved and cherished by the king, but then all of the sudden she finds herself folding socks or editing a 40-page contract. Sure doesn't feel noble to me. But the Bible says we're made to be energetic, organized, industrious, enthusiastic. Even princesses have to get themselves dressed, pay attention to what's going on around them, and adjust accordingly. It takes work, this princess stuff. Can we create enthusiasm and organization and patience with our work when we don't feel like it? I believe it's within our power, but it brings me great comfort to know that God also promises to step into the gap and help us.
Going back to my analogy about our benevolent King, the King who wants us to stop sorting through filth and to come into the castle and experience His world, I like to picture our work as a partnership. When I feel bored or weak or run down, I feel alone. Misunderstood, unappreciated, tired, and utterly unhelped. But once I remember that God cares, it helps a little. Then, I remind myself that not only does He care, he wants to help. God can't fold socks with me, but He can infiltrate my thoughts and my heart and - if I let him - He would love nothing more than to remind me that He cares what I'm doing. That makes any task more pleasant, right? Princesses are noble, but we are women, we are HUMAN. We get bored, frustrated, lonely, and down. God made us this way, made us able to feel these emotions. But he also offers himself as a salve to those wounds, as a way out of the downward spiral. So just think: You're folding socks because God blessed you with a servant's heart, a love for your family, an ability to perform mundane and unappreciated tasks with the grace of royalty. With every sock, your character grows and your ability to hold your head up high, knowing you've been noble and princess-like, increases. You're powering through a 40-page contract because God blessed you with patience, a critical and intelligent mind, and a job that allows you to use those characteristics to put food on your table. With each page and edit, you know that your value to your employer and your personal sense of achievement is increasing. That, if you allow yourself to acknowledge it, is PRETTY awesome! We are called to be servants, to help others, to be Christ to those around us. Some are asked to travel overseas as missionaries, to create masterpieces, to preach in front of thousands. I have been asked to sit on a sofa, or at an office, to be a servant to my family, my colleagues, and in doing so I am JUST AS PLEASING TO GOD as if I'd sold all my earthly possessions and moved into a village in Africa to eat cow intestines and tell people about Jesus. JUST. AS. PLEASING. Because the Bible is clear - it's not the type of work, but the attitude and sensitivity to your individual calling, that God values.
I matter! My work matters! When we understand this truth we can look at ANYTHING we are doing as important - and doesn't realizing something is important spur us on to do it with excellence and enthusiasm? Doesn't realizing that our King (aka the ONLY ONE WHO MATTERS) is pleased with us provide us with just enough praise and acknowledgement to give us that extra boost we need to keep on keepin' on?
For me, on a good day, it does. My prayer is that I - and you - can remember that in the midst of the storm. I don't expect you to take my word for it, so I'm going to provide you with evidence from the Word that what you do, no matter what it is, matters a LOT to your God. And he doesn't expect you to just go through the motions - in fact, just the opposite - he longs to see you spend those moments joyfully thinking of his promises and his provision, and soaking up the admiration and praise he wishes to bestow upon you for each and every task done well! Will you let Him in?
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