She is clothed with strength and dignity, and when she speaks, she speaks with wisdom. She gets up early to prepare for the day and works into the night caring for her family. She brings good to her husband and enriches his life. She is trustworthy and energetic. She shows MERCY to those in need and gives instructions with kindness. I’m describing the perfectly unattainable proverbs 31 woman as she had several servants helping in her daily tasks, but we can strive to become like this woman when we plant seeds in the garden of our heart that will grow to produce fruit and beauty.
I knew a woman who wore purple. She always wore classy clothes,
flattering jewelry and tasteful makeup. She had the prettiest gray hair and always smelled like sweet flowers. When I was a young adult, I asked myself why she was such a lovely person, everything about her was lovely. I was part of a Bible study she led and it was so evident she had a reverence and fear of the Lord. After that class, I always associated purple with a woman of loveliness who feared the Lord. Historically, purple is a color of royalty, majesty and honor. Maybe it doesn’t really matter how we dress but it does matter the seeds we’re planting and the growth we’re cultivating. Matthew says people will know if we love Jesus or not by the fruit of our lives. For women gardeners, we know the work required to plant seeds, the weeds that need to be plucked and the thorns that can destroy but there is always beauty that sprouts among the thorns.
The beginning of wisdom is fear of the Lord (Proverbs 9:10)
and when we seek after Him like searching for treasure,
He will continually water and prune us to become more like Him.
He is calling women back to holiness, simplicity, and femininity.
If we’re listening to the advice of King Lemuel’s mother when
she was telling her son in proverbs what kind of woman to marry,
I can say with personal conviction it really
does matter how we portray ourselves,
it matters how we speak,
how we respond to our children,
how we love our husbands, and
yes how we dress as well.
We are a silent witness by our fruit.
“A little while ago an English paper offered a prize for the best definition of a lady.
This is the answer that took the prize:
What is a lady?
To be a lady means, rightly, to be a gentlewoman who shows by her every word and action a sweet and gentle dignity, with gracious charm of manner; a woman whose heart is pure and true, who is tender toward all suffering, who sympathizes with those in trouble and is
ever ready to give that which costs her some effort and self-denial. A lady thinks no
work derogatory, and no one is deemed too low to receive courtesy and kindness. She is pure and good in every detail of life, a true friend, and a ‘ministering angel’ in
sorrow and in sickness.”
We are never beyond hope of becoming this lady.
I am reminded the Lord offers this loveliness for any of His daughters
who are willing to seek after it. We are all becoming and all in different seasons of growth.
A season to bee lovely so we can learn to love better.
A season to bee restored so we can have more to give.
A season to bee brave so we can take a step forward in our purpose.
And some seasons we need to just. bee. still.
In one season we are the disciple, in another season we may become the teacher.
Jesus taught twelve disciples and was as close as brothers with three. He modeled MERCY and offered a free gift of hope. Those disciples went on to spread the good news of hope across the world and people believed even though they didn’t see. It’s amazing to me in our world today where “yesterday’s news is old news” that the news of Jesus is still as alive and full of hope as it was 2,000 years ago.
The seed started with a mother who humbly answered God’s call to bring a baby into the world, the One who would be our Savior. .
When we know the MERCY of the Father in sending Jesus, we are compelled to show that MERCY to others and so begins the process of becoming more like Him, gentle, generous, and gracious.
I had a college professor who genuinely cared about me in one of my hardest seasons and he said, “We are all in a blooming process”. It stuck with me all these years. A seed has to be planted in rich soil. Then God the Great Gardener cultivates that seed and it sprouts through the trials of life, the pruning of hard seasons and the stillness of a garden.
Flowers always take time to grow and have a season to bloom. God designed women to bloom in season and like a flower that eventually withers, beauty fades but a woman who endures with the fear of the Lord will be praised.
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