Ruby in the rough

Proverbs 31:10 Who can find a virtuous woman?  For her worth is far beyond rubies.

I have never really thought about rubies before, and honestly I probably would never have. As Elizabeth George enlightens us, “The rich red gem is truly a unique gem, and because of their rarity, large rubies even surpass diamonds of equal weight in value.” How great it must be for us to hold this kind of value in our husband’s and children’s lives. Elizabeth describes it as bringing love, color, joy, life, and energy into our home. Those qualities sound a lot like qualities, or fruits of a Christian, but how does that look in our homes and families?

I truly love Elizabeth’s practical advice. The things she challenges us to consider are so common to us, yet so easy to be too occupied to work on. She discusses how growing in practical skills such as, homemaking, managing money, and managing time for our family, and growing in emotional stability by mastering our tolerance, temper, and tongue, could bring peace and joy into our homes. I know every family dynamic is different and we all have different strengths, but I know there are ways we can all help our families in these areas.

I felt like God was talking to me specifically through this chapter. As a matter of fact, I blew through this chapter with such conviction. The next day my mother in law sent me a devotional from Our Daily Bread where God reminded me of the gifts He has already placed in my life to grow in these areas. See God, being my Heavenly Father in all His glory, knew my feeling of defeat and lifted me up reminding me that ”…we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.” (Eph 2:10) “Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” (1 Cor 4:2)

What does that mean for us as we work on becoming the virtuous woman? Sisters in Christ, don’t allow yourselves to be defeated by your lack of holiness in these areas, but stand strong in faith that God Himself will shine through us like the ruby we desire to be for our families. Seek out ways to become a better homemaker, a better money manager, a better time manager. Pray and allow God to empower you on taming your emotional tolerance, temper, and tongue . . . oh hard it may seem sometimes, I know. I have a two year old.

Just for inspiration I thought I’d share this. I am not the ideal person to watch over finances. Numbers and I just never seem to balance, pun intended. However, ever since it’s become my job to oversee our budget I’ve realized how hard it is to keep track of so, so, so many debit card transactions. It gave me a headache and resulted in me leaving all my cards at home! Praise God for calling me to help my husband oversee our finances, because I would have never known what limits were otherwise.

So, if you thought the virtuous woman’s character was unbelievably exceptional, her worth being likened unto rubies, and beyond, certainly makes us realize finding a virtuous woman isn’t easy, as they are so unique and rare. That will not stop me from being in pursuit of becoming the virtuous woman. As a matter of fact, guess what else is difficult to find?

Matthew 7:14 “Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to life, and there are few who find it.”

So, let’s choose today to walk through that difficult and narrow gate as we become the virtuous women God desires us to be.

How about you? Has Elizabeth George encouraged you to work on a particular part of your life? Has God challenged or inspired you to make a change in your life to be on your way to becoming the virtuous woman He would like us to be?

Photo Courtesy of en.wikipedia.org