Yes, the Proverbs 31 woman, the perfect woman, the "one" all Christian wives and mothers and, well, women, aspire to be, to compare ourselves to, and to fall far short of, the woman we all have, ashamedly, a sort of secret love/hate feeling for. Seriously! I mean, come on! That woman in Proverbs 31 is the consummate wife and mother and daughter and child of God. She does it all--finances, cooking, clothing, housekeeping, childrearing, counseling, medical attention, praying...and she does it perfectly, with grace. She is the litmus test against which each of us compare our lives as wives and mothers, as Christian women. We all know at least one person, maybe even a few, who could fit the criteria, make the grade. But most of us bemoan the fact that we personally will never make it that level of perfection. And I am no different. I can think of no less than four woman right now who are breathing rare Proverbs 31 atmosphere...and I bet none of them would even think I am talking about them. I am, though, going to talk about just one of them.
I met this young woman over three years ago when I walked into a local store looking for volunteer work. She has the most beautiful eyes and most sincere smile I have ever seen; we hit it off right away. She is as country as they come, and honest, sweet, and funny. I knew we'd get along, so I signed up right away, first for a couple of hours a week, and now, three years later, I am there probably 40 hours a week. But my hours are not important at all, except to validate the kind of person she is. Because I am blessed to consider myself her friend. And although I am twice her age, and have had far more formal education, she is wiser and more skilled in business than I have ever been. She accepts everyone with the same grace and love, and treats no one with disrespect or disdain, regardless of how she is treated. I have seen customers curse at her, and yell at her, and she maintains her decorum and professionalism (something I cannot say about myself). When she is treated unfairly by policies or supervisors, she remains professional, and dignified. When people demand "special treatment" due to their self-perceived importance, she handles their requests with finesse without capitulating to every little petulant rant. Any number of crises--power outage, no money for gas, broken credit card machine, water leak, death in the family, snowstorms, truck breakdown, no drivers--she weathers them calmly and with grace.
Outside of her professional life, like everyone, she also has a personal life--financial, emotional, family squabbles, legal issues, marriage, friends, sicknesses, deaths, flat tires, where to go for vacation, and worries about aging parents. We have shared a lot of our stories together, and I would like to think I have helped her, but it is FAR more accurate to say SHE has helped ME. The things she deals with on a daily basis astound me. Because she does it all with such grace. And with such love. And as if anyone in the world could be doing what she is doing. Everyone she meets feels like her friend. People that others would look down on, or look away from, or not even look twice at--she treats all these people the same as anyone else she meets. More importantly, she fights for them. She gets righteously angry when the weak and the downtrodden are taken advantage of--just like it says in Proverbs 31:8, "Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute."
When I work with her, I feel like I have done something good, helped someone, yet there is this nagging thought I could have done a little bit better, a little bit more. So I go back the next day, and try to do more, and do it better, and with more grace. She has become such an example for me, and I am so blessed and so thankful to know her. Thanks, Lord, for putting me on this path--I need all the help you can give me.
