Proverbs 31:11 and 12
‘Her husband has full confidence in her and lacks nothing of value. She brings him good, not harm all the days of her life’.
Can women really have it all? A great career, lots of exposure, wonderful well raised kids, a loving and vibrant marriage, an active and accurate relationship with God?
They tell us its not possible, that usually one ball will drop. And yes, a lot of high flying women have private lives that are either messy or lonely. Kinda seems like we have to choose. . . success at home or success at work. And neither are guaranteed, for life can still throw stuff at you.
I just finished reading a good book, Ping Fu’s Bend not break. It was a most enjoying read. Ping chronicled the story of her life, from her days of misery, suffering and shame in Mao’s communist China, to becoming an American citizen, starting a family and then a business. She talked about painstakingly building her company from scratch, with the many long hours, a solid work ethic and fearless approach to challenges.
I really loved her story. It was encouraging, really as I hope to run my own companies too, some day. I was quite distressed to find out that after 17 years of marriage, Herbert her husband decided to walk out on the marriage. Well, Ping admits that in all the years of putting in all her strength to build her company and career, using whatever was left over to raise her daughter, her husband had somehow slid to the bottom of her priority list, where he remained, till the end of their marriage.
This scared me a bit, perhaps because I had really fallen in love with Ping’s grass to grace story. Does this mean then there is no hope for the rest of us? Is it really an ‘either or ‘ situation? Either have a great career or a great family life. Choose one.
But that’s not God! The virtuous woman depicted in Proverbs 31 didn’t have to choose! She was great at both! She was a fantastic business woman, who would not eat the bread of idleness, yet she was so committed to her husband and children she’d wake up before it was dawn to sort them out. Her husband had full confidence in her and lacked nothing of value. She was wife, mother, home maker, entrepreneur and servant of God all rolled in one.
Her husband and children arose and testified to how amazing she really was. I believe God’s word is true, I believe that because it’s in God’s word, this can be me. I believe success does not have to be a trade off between the peace of my family and the rest of the world. I believe if I submit to God, He can help me become this woman (Proverbs 31). It is definitely is not easy, for it were , more people would be doing it. But Lord, here I am, help me become the Proverbs 31 woman in a process that brings glory to You.
Shalom.