She sees that her trading is profitable, and her lamp does not go out at night. — Proverbs 31:18

I grew up in northern California and that meant that earthquakes were a reality for me. I’ve been through a number of earthquakes that measured 5.0, at least one that was in the 6.0 range, and the worst one — the Loma Prieta earthquake on October 17, 1989 — that measured between 6.9 – 7.1 depending on your source. That one collapsed a portion of the Bay Bridge, collapsed a few highway interchange, devastated neighborhoods in Watsonville, and caused more insane damage. It was a shock to me as to how much damage there was when I watched a Discovery channel special on the earthquake ten years later. It was drilled into us that the only way to deal with this threat was to be ready with a certain amount of water (2 gallons per person per day), non-perishable food, batteries for flashlights, camping equipment in case you had to cook outside, candles, and stuff like that so that if your house collapsed, you could survive.

This fits into our verse for today because our woman of valor has assured that her trading yields profitable results so that “her lap does not go out at night”. The money from her endeavors yields the funds necessary to buy oil to light her lap (and thus her house) and she is prepared for whatever she will handle that night. A reason that this might make her a “virtuous” woman or “woman of valor” is that her husband can trust that she will be prepared if things come up. A child with a fever? She can deal with that. Company coming? She has the extra food and linens.

In our modern lives, I feel like this verse is extolling the virtues of women being prepared as managers of their households. As in the previous paragraph, child with fever? She’s got Tylenol. Power outage? The flashlights have fresh batteries, there’s ice to put in coolers to keep the perishables cold, and we’ll have ice cream for dinner. Zombies attacking? Treadmills are surrounding the house. (Sorry… I couldn’t resist.)

As I’m preparing for Lent (which is, like, my favorite season of the Church year), I’m looking at 40 days of preparing my soul for Holy Week and Easter. I haven’t quite figured out what I’m giving up and/or taking on yet but my mind is on what will cause my soul to focus most on Christ during this time. This verse is useful in my spiritual preparation as it is reminding me that I need to be prepared for my ultimate destiny — eternal life with Jesus.

We have a guest post from Clare today. She works in news and she graciously took this verse today which is sparing you from having to read my sub-par musings.

??She dresses herself with strength and makes her arms strong.?? – Proverbs 31:17 (ESV)

If I were to ever get a tattoo, it would be of this Bible verse.

Since I first read it (and understood it), it??s kind of stuck with me. Maybe it??s because it draws me to memories of my time playing softball in high school. As a catcher, I had all that lovely gear – face mask, chest protector, shin guards – that were my protection and extra muscle. Thanks to all the hitting and throwing I was Fierce. I was Strong. I was Intense.

It also carried with it the perfectionism knocked into me from my ballet years.

It??s those things that I have carried with me even to today.

I suppose you could say that the fierceness, strength, intensity, and perfectionism fermented inside me to become something more teens and young women need today.

They need confidence in themselves.

I know I am good at what I do. I??m a writer, manager, artistic eye, and editor rolled into one.

Working in TV news, these things are all very important for anyone. However, I chose not to go the reporting route. I went the producing route. I put together the show – what order the stories go in, how long each reporter has, what gets cut if need be.

Being meek and silent didn??t get me where I am today.

I only graduated from university back in August. I started at my station in mid-September. Four months and a day after my first day, I was signing a contract that named me Executive Producer and meant I??m staying where I am until the end of 2014.

If I hadn??t worked hard and had confidence in myself and my abilities, I would not have gotten this. (Plus I??m just an all awesome person… Not really but I like to pretend.)

That self confidence at work spills over into my love life. (Men are hopeless and I had to just flat out ask my then best friend why he was being awkward and if he ??liked?? me and all that jazz.) That self confidence at work spills over into my spiritual life. (I know I can do better. It just takes time and thought and lots of prayer.)

And it is that self confidence that lets me know that eventually I??ll figure out what exactly God wants from me. Even though it would be easier if he just hit me over the head with it!

Clare blogs at Confessions of an Underground Catholic. Her favorite topics to blog about are discernment and the saints. She is a recent college grad who decided to move someplace warm and monsoon-y after graduation. She is thankful she hasn??t seen snow this year, has an awesome job, a friend who tries to keep her in check, and an awesome boyfriend. She is looking forward to riding out her first hurricane and going to a hurricane party since she missed Hurricane Isaac by a week last year.

She considers a field and buys it; out of her earnings she plants a vineyard. — Proverbs 31:16

This will probably be short because I didn’t get to this until 6:00 p.m. today. Sorry!

One of my favorite organizations is Kiva. They loan money to people in impoverished communities to do something to get them out of poverty — start a business, build a house, or something educational. People can make loans in $25 increments and all those $25 loans add up to $1800 or whatever is needed for the loan. When the loan is paid back, you have the option of having them cut you a check or re-loaning out the money. My choice: *ALWAYS* re-loan the money. I’ve made 14 loans, 13 of which have been paid back or are being paid back and that’s with perhaps $100 of seed money. That’s a lot of $25 re-loans.

I think that this practice (micro-lending) is some of what the woman of valor in this chapter would do today. Back in those days, land would be the thing in which to invest. Today, land is expensive so a savvy woman would invest in other people. With the help of Kiva and other similar organizations, people who would otherwise not be able to feed their families are now out of poverty and becoming leaders in their communities. In this way, growth occurs.

??She selects wool and flax and works with eager hands.?? — Proverbs 31:13

As women of God, we are called to serve God and others. The ??others?? vary by our situation. They can be: husbands, children, parents, siblings, relatives, friends, etc. No matter whom it is we are serving we are asked to accept the work God has assigned us.

In Biblical times, wool and flax were significant because all clothing was made from either wool or flax. Flax is woven together to make linen. Wool was woven to make outer garments. Those people that were clothed in linen were deemed suitable to be in the presence of God.

Wool and flax are raw materials that must be woven together to make something beautiful on the inside and the outside. Women are called to work with their hands to create something from nothing. Functionally, women are designed to create a life by piecing together two raw materials to make a life. On a basic level, we are asked to fulfill the roles of women in biblical times and choose what is best for ourselves and our loved ones to make them presentable to God each and everyday. We are called to dress our loved ones spiritually and physically both internally and externally.

Women are called to prepare hearts and minds to be present in the Lord by our example. We are asked to pray with our loved ones and pray for our loved ones. Women must teach others to fear God but, to know God??s unending love for us. It is not enough to simply teach others and pray with others. These seemingly invisible acts are our spiritual flax. Attending church, living the faith, and enjoying the company of other Christians is our spiritual wool. Together our flax and wool make us presentable to God.

In a more practical sense, flax typically was grown on the grounds of a woman??s home therefore, she set out to select what her property had yielded. Today, women are often in a position to select the foods that a family consumes and the garments a family will wear. We can choose food and clothing that is made using humane practices and fair trade. We must choose the best food, the purest foods to place on the table before our family. We make sure our children are drinking out of BPA free cups and they aren??t consuming unnecessary chemicals. Many of us strive to make food from scratch to ensure that our loved ones are consuming the best. We may not be weaving our clothes but we are selecting the clothing for our loved ones and ourselves that glorify God.

Interestingly, we are called to do this difficult work each day with eager hands. It is not always easy to fulfill our role as women of God with zest and joy. The use of the word ??eager?? is curious because in other translations they use word ??willing??. Eager indicates a certain level of excitement however; willing indicates that she receives the work because it is the will of God. It does not indicate the same level of excitement for the tasks laid before her. On a daily basis, we should strive to fulfill the role that God has set before us with joy, happiness, and love. The love of God should be our motivation to complete seemingly difficult and sometimes thankless tasks. Our reward will be found in heaven.

Liz is a Catholic wife and mother to a little boy. Her family resides in New York. She enjoys cooking, crafting, and quality time with her family. She blogs about their life together at Tales From Astoria.

Today’s author, Jill Maria Murdy, is the younger sister of a family friend. My mom started working with her older brother when I was probably 3 or 4. We got to know each other last year when I started making liturgist jokes on her brother’s Facebook. These days, she’s my late night chat buddy on Facebook and graciously agreed to write something for this. 🙂

She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life ?? exclaims the NRSV translation of Proverbs 31: 12, but it is hard to ask ??what does this mean??? without putting it in the context of the whole chapter of Proverbs 31: 10-31. One could go down the list of skills and gifts presented in the scripture and come up with a similar, albeit updated list of skills of the wife or woman today.

Sometimes people pick and choose which verses of this passage they want, and you end up hearing ??Yep. The good wife, she cooks and cleans, and takes care of the men.?? But that is the smallest degree of what was said in the first place. Sometimes the passage is called ??the valiant wife?? or ??worthy wife.?? ??She is more precious than jewels.?? Take a look at the passage and then reflect on it. Perhaps she works with fine arts instead of wool and flax, or clips coupons instead of bringing her food from far away.

Maybe she rises early to take the children to school, write her blog and pray, or do a task at home before heading out to her own job. She may be a land owner or investor, and finds time to work out at the gym. Late night she is busy paying the bills, and managing the family??s calendar for the week. She waits for the repairman for the garbage disposal, and reminds her husband of the ??honey do list?? of chores which must be done to maintain the house. She is involved in volunteer work and helps at the domestic violence shelter and the food pantry.

Her house is sturdy, and she cares for her belongings and pays her electric bill on time. She is not afraid of the snow as the kids have warm clothes. Perhaps it may be chaotic, but the household is filled with love. She or her husband may hold public office, and perhaps she is a successful businesswoman, or holds her own roles within the church or community. Her identity is not dependent upon his, but they support each other.

Time and beauty may pass, but still they are happy as they continue to love and grow together.

So if we go back to the original premise, ??She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life ??, who??s life would not be richer for having this woman, this lover, this friend along side them? She is exercising the virtues which come naturally from being a good woman. These are the skills she learned from her mother, and every generation of women has been down to those who follow them since long before Proverbs was ever written.

Jill Maria Murdy is the director of Liturgy and Music at St. Frances Cabrini Parish in West Bend WI. This is a large parish with 2300 families, 6000 members. She grew up in a small Montana town. She is a frequent writer and contributor to many liturgical publications. She also has a background in small rural communities, and Benedictine Monasticism.

In her current ministry she plans about 70 funerals a year. The Proverbs passage is frequently discussed so she has had many chances to reflect on it.