The Proverbs 31 Woman

I'm a big fan of Proverbs 31. I've read countless books on the passage. I receive daily devotionals from a women's group with the same name. I even have a keychain with a reminder of verse 28a. I strive to be a Proverbs 31 woman.

My Proverbs 31 morning began alright this morning. I "[got] up while it was still dark" (15a) thanks to Benjamin Franklin's brilliant Daylight Savings idea. Yes, there's a little sarcasm there. While I appreciate the extra daylight in the evening hours, the darkness that still lingers at 7:00 AM throws me for a loop. Since I am not a morning person, I really need the extra daylight in the mornings so I'll get my butt out of bed. (Of course the fact that my lamp often does not go out at night--or at least until late in the night--could account for some of my morning blues.)

I would like to say that the children arose and called me "blessed." Yeah. Right. There was the customary forced uprising since I've decided the children should start acting like "regular" children rather than staying in bed long past the time schoolchildren have settled into their neat little desks. And rather than throwing me a blessing, there was the habitual "Where's my breakfast?" growl. Well, not really. They are more polite than that. Maybe I'm just reflecting my own morning grumpiness on them.

Then suddenly chaos broke out as it often does on a busy morning like this one. I found myself comforting a sick baby on my lap, addressing an email, talking on the phone about said email, prying a dead bird from the puppy's mouth, yelling at the children to wash their hands--with soap!--so they wouldn't get Avian Flu, getting the dog in his crate, and trying to get the kids to start their school work knowing the day would be cut short by a doctor's visit for the sick baby. All of this at the same time.

As all of this was occurring (did I mention at the same time?), verse 25b suddenly popped into my head: "...she can laugh at the days to come." I'm beginning to wonder what was behind her laughter. What was the motivating force behind such hilarity? I mean, I can laugh too, but if I was really honest, I'd have to say that sometimes...sometimes that laughter is just a coping mechanism to deal with all of the chaos that surrounds a week like this one--a week working with a struggling reader, co-op, Book Club projects, AWANA projects which involve potatoes, a sick baby, a crazy puppy, soccer practices, church meetings, lesson writing, paper grading, and trying to run a homeschool home without a husband.

Of course, this husband is an amazing man who "praises [me]" (28b), and perhaps one day--probably the day when they themselves become parents--my children may call me blessed. Until then, I will laugh through the chaos and, most importantly, everyday learn more about what it means to "fear the Lord" (30b).