Proverbs 31:16

"She considereth a field, and buyeth it: with the fruit of her hands she planteth a vineyard."

Some ladies have a difficult time seeing the relevance of this verse today, since few of us are buying fields and planting vineyards. But, as is always the case with God's Word, there is meaning in it even for our modern culture.

The word that stands out to me the most in the first section of the verse is "considereth". How often do we consider purchases before making them. Yes, it is easy to say that we do on the big items, but what about the small ones? Do we consider the impact of even small purchases on the budget? Are we careful to only purchase things that we truly need? Or, do we disregard our husband's desires to fulfill small selfish wants?

I find the phrase "with the fruit of her hands" very interesting. I know that we often hear the Proverbs 31 Lady described as being creative, or having home businesses, and this makes me wonder if she would have taken the money she earned and used it to help plant food that she could grow for her family. Or perhaps the phrase simply refers to the work that she puts in to planting the vineyard. Either way I think that it is clear that she does what she can to provide them with food.

But what if you do not have the space or ability to plant a large garden? Why not try a container garden? You can grow quite a bit of food in small spaces, such as a small patio of an apartment, or a front porch of your house. If you have children, this is also a great project for them! I think that this next year we are going to have a special little garden for the children to grow things. I think it would be a valuable lesson in learning where food comes from, and the effort that it takes to get it on to the table!

I think the overall point is that the excellent wife strives to do what she can to provide food for the table. She is well rounded in her skills, as we can see from the verses we have already covered, and the ones yet to come.

Love,