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why do I feel worse than a plug nickel?

¹ A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies. . .
¹⁵ She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family. . .
¹⁶ She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
²⁸ Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her . . .
³⁰  a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
³¹ Honor her for all that her hands have done,

Proverbs 31:10-31

I live to be a Proverbs 31 woman. However, these verses once depressed me. Mornings and I have a love/hate relationship, so I seldom get up while it’s still night to do anything. And my music and writing income puts me in the class of starving artist. My arms are not strong, and my lamp goes out by midnight.

The Proverbs 31 woman has tremendous characteristics, but I’ll never be a gardener or a trader. On the other hand, I scrub the bathroom so it sparkles and keep the laundry clean and folded. While my girls lived at home, I wasn’t even very good at packing a lunch, but they never went hungry. Some mothers work full time jobs and play chauffeur in the evenings. Others juggle schedules and possess organizational skills that rival a corporate CEO with a tremendous assistant.

Your children might not rise and call you blessed; but wait till they move out. There’s a good chance that will change. Your family will probably miss the call to honor you for all your hands have done, but even when those in your house don’t appreciate your hard work, Christ does. Don’t allow these verses from Proverbs make you feel bad about yourself. I think King Lemuel’s mother meant them as a challenge for her son, a call to look for everything his wife does in the background, rather than a checklist for women to measure up to. She wanted him to appreciate the wife God gave him.

When you’re feeling overwhelmed or bad about yourself, try taking these verses from Proverbs 31 and make your own list. “She selects the best clothing and works hard at all she does. . . She considers what to cook for dinner and it nourishes her family . . . She see that her children have all they need for school . . . In her hand she holds the vacuum and grasps the dog’s leash with her fingers . . . When it snows, she provides scarves and gloves even though they won’t wear them . . . She loves herself and her family and teaches them how to have a relationship with Jesus.”

A wife of noble character and a woman who fears the Lord, the bookends of this passage, create the template for a Proverbs 31 woman. Everything in between will change; these unique attributes define our true beauty and reveal the Creator’s handiwork. Rise today knowing Jesus calls you blessed before your children learn this truth. Go out in the strength of your noble character as one who stands in awe and reverence of our Loving Lord.