Proverbs 31:13

"She seeketh wool, and flax, and worketh willingly with her hands."

God must have a sense of humor...

Timing always seems to work out interestingly to me, and I could not believe that this was the verse today. Today I have been guilty of what so many of us homemakers do. I have been working diligently, but I cannot say that I have been working willingly.

Does that matter? It matters to God. The attitude behind what you do is even more important than what you do. This isn't easy for me, and I would rather focus on the first part of this verse, but God is really laying on my heart that I need to share the importance of doing things with a happy heart. I think that as women, we are more prone to being emotional, and to getting discouraged. I strongly believe that this is one reason that God placed us under the authority of our husbands. But being emotional is not an excuse for going about our duties with a bad attitude, or even worse-neglecting them all together.

I have heard this verse translated as "and works with delight", or that "she works with eager with her hands". Both of these imply to me that she is happy to be doing her duties. She does not do them begrudgingly or with a selfish attitude. A godly woman takes great pleasure in working with her hands. She lovingly cares for her home because she is thankful for it. She prepares the meals with love because she is thankful to have a family for whom to cook for.

And now to the first part of this verse. In todays world we are so blessed to not have to seek the materials in order to make fabric to make clothing from. We can go to a fabric store, pick up what we need, and sew it with our electric machines! Or- we can even go in to a store and purchase ready made garments! So- how does this apply to us today? The Hebrew word for "seeks" has also been translated in other places as "selects" or "cares for". As homemakers we have the responsibility of caring for our families clothing. We wash the clothes, we iron, we mend as necessary. We ensure that everyone in our family has what they need, we take care to ensure that they have clean socks, and undergarments, that they have clothing that fits and is not too worn. All of these are simple duties in and of themselves, but we must remember that they are God-ordained duties. You are not tending to the laundry simply because no one else will, you are doing it because it is part of your responsibilities as laid out by God.

"...with her hands." I find this wording to be interesting. I have come to notice over the years that when my hands are busy, my heart finds less reason to be discontent. I am sure you have heard the old saying "Idle hands are the devil's playground". There is good reason behind this! When we sit idly our mind starts to wander. We start off with good intentions. We start thinking about how we would like to rearrange the furniture...and then well maybe we should repaint the walls...you know-we could really use new furniture...why won't my husband buy me new furniture, if only we could afford something nicer...When we occupy ourselves, and our hands, with something productive, we do not struggle with this as much.

So what are we to do with our hands? In our entertainment saturated society we have lost the art of working with our hands. Generations ago all women knew how to knit, crochet, sew, and many other needlework skills. Somewhere along the line these skills stopped being passed down. Rather than learning to knit by watching mama, children are busy watching television or playing video games. Many of us never had the opportunity to learn these valued skills, and struggled as young homemakers as we sought out God's will in our duties. But there is hope! With all of the techological advances that have come along we now have knowledge at our fingertips. Whatever we could possibly want to learn the information is out there. We recently had a discussion with another famiy about whether the internet was harmful or helpful. They were of the opinion that there are too many bad things on it, so therefore it is not worthwhile. While we agree that you must be so very careful, there is also no better way to access such a vast amount of knowledge. When I first was married, I knew so little about the various skills I would need as a homemaker. I did not know how to sew, or knit, bake or can. I had to learn these things and had no one around who could teach me. So I started researching. I found step by step instructions on how to knit. I could even watch an instructional video! I say all of this to encourage you that even if you do not know how to do these things, there are resources available to help.

I hope that this will be to some encouragement to you. I feel strongly that I am not the only one who has struggled with going about her duties with willingness. I pray that by remembering God's word on this subject our hearts will be changed, and our attitudes corrected to that we may go about our duties with good diligence, but also with happy hearts.

Pax Christi,