I'd like to talk a little about an inspiring woman every week. Usually it will be this fabulous lady, but a few others will get sprinkled in there, too! If the woman we talk about is from the Bible, this post will probably be a little more like a study. If it's someone else, like a character from history, or from my life, it will have a little bit of a different feel. We'll see how it develops! I'm excited to share with you what inspires me.
In this first post, I want to tell you why I love this nameless woman from Proverbs. I grew up in a very legalistic atmosphere, not so much within my home as in the church and school we attended. There was a clear way they wanted women to be, and it was preached often. I didn't care for the standard they were putting out there. I didn't want my choices of what to be limited to a wife, mom, or Christian school teacher. I wanted to do something great. Most of all, I didn't want to fit into the mold that others thought I should. I didn't want to be a certain way that women were "supposed to be." The problem is, because of the environment I was in, I thought it was actually God who had this limited box for women. I had in my mind that the Proverbs 31 woman, this clear pattern for women laid out by God Himself, must have been a Pastor's wife. It's always funny how we come full circle when we stop believing what we think God wants from us, and actually start looking.
I love doing things around my home. I always have. I love cooking and baking, and crafts, and organizing, and all things domestic. But I never wanted to be limited to that. I wanted to do it ALL- the domestic stuff and the career stuff. I felt a little like an oxymoron. I was angry at those who told me I had to be a particular kind of woman. And I was angry at God because I thought He was in on that.
Enter the Woman who did it all. I don't remember how I got started reading more about the Proverbs 31 woman. I think it was probably in college. But once I started, I was hooked. It was as if I was looking at God and the Bible in a new light. I know that might seem silly, but I was really struggling with a God who would give me talents, and then force me to be in a box as a woman. I didn't realize until I opened up His Book that this was a man made box. And so it was and is with many things. It is God who is limitless; men always try to change that.
As I read and studied Proverbs 31, I felt peaceful knowing that I could love my domestic skills, and love business as well. I could aspire to do both things, and to be unlimited in my goals and interests. She seemed to be sending me a wink, and saying that the joke is on people who limit what God really wants from us. She seemed to be saying that it might just be okay to be myself.
And this is why I love her so much. I don't claim to be an expert, or a great example of the Proverbs 31 woman. Probably not even a mediocre example. But she opened up a new way of thinking for me, so I want to share her with you, too. I came to a place of wanting to be more like her, instead of fearing to be like her. I hope you see her for the awesome woman that she is. I can't wait to get to know her better, together!
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