The Proverbs 31 Woman – Week 6

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Woohoo…we are up to week 6 in our Proverbs 31 series!!!

This week we are looking at verses 19 & 20

“In her hand she holds the distaff
and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
She opens her arms to the poor
and extends her hands to the needy.”

 I can’t get over the mundane work the Proverbs 31 woman does.  In  her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle to spin her own thread to use to sew her family’s clothing!  And I think ironing is hard work! lol!  Oh my, is this a mundane task!

I feel quite sure that she did not enjoy every second of this – in the same way that I don’t enjoy every second of scrubbing a toilet BUT she has a willing heart.  She is willing to do it because hidden within the mundane is a treasure – the treasure of making her home a haven for her own family and for those in need.

  Now here is the challenge for us——>

Weekly Challenge: Pray and ask God to help you see the needs of others around you. Then bless someone this week by seeing the need and meeting it. Share in the comment section how God worked through you to meet this need.

Ideas include:

Helping someone while you are out and about during your day…..picking up something that they dropped, carrying out the groceries etc.

Babysitting for the single mom down the road

Going through your closet and giving some of your cloths away to those who need them

Surprise the family down the street who are having financial problems with a gift card or a check to help pay for one of their bills.

Sponsor a child through Compassion or World Vision

Help out in a soup kitchen

Help with VBS

Over Memorial Day, my husband rebuilt our mailbox and the neighbor’s mailbox.

Keith put each of us to work with a task.  Alexis and I did all the painting.  Then the boys did the hammering while we passed them the nails.  Before long – voila!  2 new mailboxes.

A day later, the doorbell rang and it was our next door neighbor.  She’s an older woman who was recently widowed.  With her eyes full of tears and a smile as wide as the sky, she grabbed me and hugged me and said:

 “Thank you SO much!  With my husband gone and my children living far away in other states, I didn’t know how I was ever going to fix my mailbox.  That is something my husband would have handled and I’ve been worried about it.”

She tried to offer us money, which we refused, and she hugged me two more times before leaving.  Oh I could feel the relief and joy she felt from this simple thing my husband had done and it made me wonder – what else is she worrying about that I could be of use for.

Is my neighbor poor?  Financially no – but she had a need that we were able to meet.   We sponsor children through World Help and Compassion, but I must say that we don’t have to look across the ocean to find someone in need – in our case – I only need to look across my lawn to the widow next door!

The beauty that radiates from the Proverbs 31 woman is a beauty that comes from the lives she has touched.

So I wonder – Have you ever been in need and someone extended a hand to you? Please share your stories in the comments – I think it will remind us that God uses us – his children – to be an extension of his loving hands.

Walk with the King,

 

 

19 Comments

  1. My mother always taught me to help someone and look for needs to be met. She was wonderful at being an example as she always helped in any way that she could, either by cleaning a house, or watching kids, or whatever.

    I have three definite examples of my family having a need and it being met so graciously. A little backstory a few years ago my husband was gone for 5 months while I was pregnant with our third child. We were being paid very little and had no money in savings.

    The first help we had was a woman in our church organized a yard sale to benefit our family. She got enough donations and sold over $1,000. It was such a blessing to us.

    The second help was the change offering at our church. Every year, sometimes twice a year, our worship leader does a change offering. Well that same year he decided to give us the change offering as he always gives it to someone in need in our church. Out of everyone’s change we got over $700!! It was so incredible.

    The third help is one that I still don’t know who is responsible for. A person or couple or family in our church specifically dedicated their $200 offering a month to us through the church. They had the church write us the check because they wanted it to remain anonymous. It was such a blessing.

    These blessings helped us so much in a time where we were in extreme need.

  2. Aw, bless you for helping her!
    I too am not “poor” financially but perhaps in some other ways, and it is often a fear wondering how I will fix something or who I might find to help me out. I have been so thankful for people’s thoughtfulness and kindness.

  3. Years ago, we were moving from our apartment to our first house about 50 miles away. My husband went to pick-up our “reserved” moving van, to find out they had over booked. It was the weekend when the fireworks booths were getting set-up, and no one had a van. My brother-in-law’s parents just happened to have a van they had rented to help their son move out of state. So….all night long we moved, with their help. It was truly a wonderful blessing, and God used some very generous people.

    On the flip side, we have been decluttering our house and my children have toys they would like to donate to families in need. We would rather find someone we could give them to, not just donate to Goodwill, to sell in their thrift shops. I am having a hard time finding organizations or individuals in need. I would love any ideas! Thanks

    1. Try local churches or a daycare. Those places go through toys pretty regularly, and “new” toys are always a blessing. I hope you will find someone special to share your belongings! 🙂

    2. If they do end up in Goodwill don’t think it is just something arbitrary. I worked in the social services field for over eight years. I can tell you that Goodwill does very good things. They actually do help disabled who would not otherwise be able to find work and have independence have work and independence. So they do what they say they are doing and I know of many who have benefited greatly from the organization. I just wanted to let you know just in case things ended up there. I am glad to hear of your family wanting to share what you have:-)

    3. Don’t ever feel like you aren’t doing a good thing donating toys etc to good will ! Think of it this way- good will, salvation army, value village etc. all generally have great values. They hire those who might not get an job elsewhere because of a disability etc (like Charity mentioned) and also I know Salvation army uses their funds to give to those in need. So in essence, when you can’t find someone needy to give your items to, they will do it for you in some way! How great is that 🙂 Also, it allows people on a limited budget (or anyone, really) to shop frugally and save money, thus being able to use their resources to help other more. I hope this encourages you . I also agree that churches are a great place to donate toys, we do it often.

  4. I aspire to be the woman described in these verses. One who is not afraid of hard work. One that will not give up. One that will recognize a need and do something to fill it. God gives us blessings so that we can bless others.

  5. I looked up “distaff” in Webster’s. What is a “distaff” anyway? It is obvious from context that it must have something to do with spinning thread but what IS it really. Here’s what I found. distaff- 1. a) a staff for holding the flax, tow, or wool in spinning — (also looked up in another source that described it as having a notch that helped keep the fibers from tangling) b) word used to describe any women’s work or domain 2. The female branch or side of the family. Hmmmm. Not too surprised by the first definition but the second one gave me a thought.

    Let’s look at definition 2 in the context of our verse. I always consult more than one translation when I study. It’s an OCD thing I have, I think. Anyway…..In all of the translations I checked, the actions of BOTH of her hands are described in some way. NRSV-“She puts her hand to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle.”, NIV- “In her hand she holds the distaff and grasps the spindle with her fingers.” NLT- “Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber.”

    So, we are clearly to understand that BOTH hands are staying busy and they BOTH have an important function. Again, why is the detail needed? If we apply definition #2, we may have found that other layer that I love finding in the living Word! I’m just an average chick doing my Bible study. I don’t have a theology degree or anything, so I may be reaching here……. Maybe we are also being told that she is a great juggler of household tasks AND family harmony? If the “distaff” can be “the female branch or side of the family” and it keeps fibers from getting tangled, and she is also twisting and working the fibers with the othr hand………….maybe she is a master of managing the extended family and keeping it harmonious and tangle free!

    Like I said, maybe I’m reaching, but the Word of God has always held multiple meanings for me and I get excited when I find something below the surface that seems to speak to me. I think it is a pretty cool thing to think about. Just another reason to admire this woman who is a model of what a mother wishes for her son!

  6. I have received many anonymous blessings over the years. In 2009, I was layed off permanently. My husband had been layed off the year before and still had not found any work in our depressed area. I was reading my Bible one night and found $80 in it. Someone, either at Bible stidy or Church had placed it there when I wasn’t looking. Another person gave me a gift card to the pharmacy I use, knowing that I needed medicine I couldn’t afford to buy. God used His people to bless and sustain us in many small ways during our “needy” time. What if those people hadn’t obeyed the prompting of the Holy Spirit to act? They would have missed their blessing and so would I. They were evidence of God providing for us out of His great bounty and through His body, the Church.

  7. Wow, I cannot count all the times the Lord provided for us through friends and neighbors. When my husband and I moved into our first house, he was layed off. We were a bit worried about how we were going to buy the kids Christmas gifts that year. We had NO money. At the time, our youngest was attending day care, and would you believe, they called us up to “discuss” our account only to walk in and find that they had wrapped two black garbage bags full of gifts for us to give to the kids!!! What a blessing and we have been forever grateful!

    My neighbor across the street is such a sweetheart too. We are a family of 6 and like most, living paycheck to paycheck. Always concerned for us, she never lets me leave her house empty-handed. She always gives us snacks for the kids and roasted almonds and pecans for my husband and me. If she asks me for three eggs, she comes back later with a bag full of oranges as a thank you!

  8. It’s just a simple thing, but I took a boy to and from summer gym today for his grandma who is watching him while his parents are away. I didn’t think much of it, but the appreciation in her voice made me realize that God uses even small gestures to bless us!

  9. Someone from our church came by our house and gave us an envelope, he said “I don’t know who it’s from, it was in the donation box and it has your names on the envelope”, we opened it and it had $300 in it! Someone had gotten word that my husband was laid off from work, we were struggling to feed our two kids at the time. We were so overwhelmed, I just cried. We are better now, my husband has a job, and I have vowed to myself that I am returning the favor. I am looking out for someone in our same former plight, and I am doing the same thing. If you can do something like this for someone-DO IT! It means SO much!!! They will never forget the help, trust me!

  10. A little over a year ago we had a house fire and had to live in a hotel for two months. We were amazed how God provided for all our needs in ABUNDANCE through His people who were willing to give of their own time and resources! It opened our eyes to the blessing of being “cheerful givers” at every opportunity.

  11. Thank you for your blog. I find it inspiring especially to be the wife and mother God called me to be!

    My husband, had two brain aneurysms 2 years ago. I am a SAHM. Needless to say, he was self employed and therefore, no working….no money!
    God has blessed us so richly through the generousity of others. We still own our house, and are able to feed our four young children.
    I remember specifically, the winter was approaching and we had an opportunity to go out with the children, but we did not have winter boots for them. I said a prayer in the morning as to what to do and not kidding…..just after lunch our doorbell rang and a man from our church came by and said that he felt led to come and give us a gift. He didn’t want us to open it when he was here. Once he left we opened the envelope and inside was a gift of $1000. I was in tears and left shortly to go and buy some boots for my children.
    Throughout these last 2 years, we have had unexpected “gifts” given to us at just the right time. Gift cards for groceries, money to help pay the bills, tuition for our children paid by anonymous doners (they attend a private chrisitan school). We feel that God is carrying us through these times and feel soooo blessed. We, of course, cannot wait until we can help others. I pray that we will be more sensitive to others needs and be able to help others as we have been helped!
    Shelley (Canada)

  12. When my 5th child, a son, was 2 mos old we learned he has craniosynostosis and would have to have surgery in a hospital 3 hours away and stay for 10 days. It was right before Christmas and having 5 kids and me being a SAHM we were not only worried about his health but knew we wouldn’t be able to afford to eat or a place to stay as only one of us was allowed to be with him at a time. Through our church and family we received 1200 dollars and the hospital had a Ronald McDonald house that had free sleeping area, showers, washer and dryer!! We were sooooo very relieved to be able to just concentrate on our son I will never forget these blessings!

  13. My husband and I were sharing a small two seater car when we found out we were pregnant with our first child. We didn’t have money saved for a bigger vehicle, and we weren’t sure how things were going to work out to be able to afford one, but we were praying! Some dear friends of ours were planning to sell their car in order to buy something bigger and newer. They surprised us by giving us $4000 from that sale in order to put toward a bigger car! By God’s grace we were able to find a reliable used car for almost exactly that price that met our needs perfectly! We are forever grateful to our brother and sister in Christ!

  14. I downloaded your book and even if I’m single I’m learning a lot on how to be a better woman.
    Thanks a lot

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