Beauty is Passing
>> June 23, 2010
The Proverbs 31 woman. I probably shouldn't use that as my first line because it may cause women to bypass reading any further and think to herself "ugh...enough with the perfect woman already." I know, I know...we all are supposed to strive to be the Proverbs 31 woman. (Pardon me as I roll my eyes.)
I don't mean any disrespect to the MAN that wrote the infamous passage for all women to "measure up" to, or to the mother at the beginning of the passage who thinks no woman is good enough for her boy, but I personally have used this chapter of the Holy Word of God to beat myself up with.I feel as if I've been doing a modern day Proverbs 31 self-check comparing myself to women I assume have this whole chapter figured out. I hop from blog to blog mesmerized by the beauty of their web site, in awe of their graceful beauty and the knowledge they so eagerly dispose in prose. (I like that...dispose in prose...ooo ADD. I see something shiny. Focus, focus, focus.)
Where was I?
Lately I've been feeling ugh-i-ick and so NOT like the Proverbs 31 woman. After lunching with a couple at their immaculate home (I mean not even a single cobweb in their CARPORT immaculate.) I came home to beat myself up some more and read the Proverb over to see where I've failed the most lately.
That's when I saw it. The closing statement. Well...the closing statement in Proverbs 31 goes like this:
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,Ok, I have the beauty passing thing down. And I do fear the Lord. But the kicker for me is the last verse.:
But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.
Let her OWN works praise her. Maybe I'm seeing this a bit out of context but I still think God showed it to me. I'm not in the running for the PR 31 Woman of the year trophy, BUT I need to let my OWN works receive praise.
5 comments so far...Care to leave your thoughts?:
Very good message, Mari. I think we all do this, even the ones we think have it all together. We are all so imperfect. I'm still trying to figure out who God created me to be.
Woot! Amen Sista! (as I write with a cobweb or two within eying distance)
You what gave me hope? Billy Grahams daughter who said it wasn't until she was 50 that she learned what God's purpose was for her.
Imagine that!
An imperfect PR 31 woman hug to ya ...
Ohh - I LIKE that. What a reminder, and comfort, to me!
My works, eh? Awesoms.
This is a subject God has really been speaking to me about through the parable of the talents. My prayer has been to feel satisfied with the two He's given me, and not to worry about the person next to me who may have five. The person with two is rewarded the same as the person with five. Lord, just NEVER let me be the person who does nothing with one.
Loved the humorous and honest tone of your writing.
You got it, sister. The plight of every superchristian superwoman wannabe. That's one of the reasons I love the new testament so much. Cuz we have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, we don't have to try to measure up to her standards, even if we want to. WE're FREE!!!! I want to please Him, but because I love Him. If I had to live up to her standard, I'd be sunk. My house is a wreck half the time, I can't and don't want to sew, and I spend more money than I make. I've joked with Brian many times that no one in this house is going to rise up and call ME blessed. How sad is that? He always laughs, cuz he knows that's a ridiculous notion. It'd still be a nice bonus, though, wouldn't it? Maybe he'll put it on my gravestone when I die just so I can rest in peace. ;)
Love this, Mari-heart. You have so much wisdom to give us!
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