There are many hardships in life, but my biggest struggle lies in trying to fully lay myself (life/hopes/dreams) down for the sake of my husband and family.

 I'm just being honest.

I'm full of pride, and with pride comes a multitude of sinful thoughts and attitudes. I'm also "unlearning" independence which, in one word = brutal.

         Interdependent- Co-dependent - dependent

Dependent only sounds good to me if "in" is attached to it. I'm completely fine with being fully dependent on God. It's just that when he tells me he wants to provide for me through my husband, I start feeling squirmy.

Most days, I don't get encouraged about being a wife and mother, so I have to remember to look to God's word for encouragement. My worth doesn't come from anything I could do or be, but in who I am as God's child and I am... beloved. 

Today I felt drawn to look up Proverbs 31 to remind myself that God highly approves of my desire to be a wife of noble character. I also needed to remember the characteristics of that woman.

"A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies." Proverbs 31:10

I'm not going to type out the full scripture, but I encourage you to read it in it's entirety. After you're done, read this next part, which I copied directly out of my Bible*:

"Proverbs has a lot to say about women. How fitting that the book ends with a picture of a woman of strong character, great wisdom, many skills, and great compassion. 


Some people have the mistaken idea that the ideal woman in the Bible is retiring, servile, and entirely domestic. Not so! This woman is an excellent wife and mother. She is also a manufacturer, importer, manager, realtor, farmer, seamstress, upholsterer, and merchant. Her strength and dignity do not come from her amazing achievements however. They are a result of her reverence for God. In our society where physical appearance counts for so much, it may surprise us to realize that her appearance is never mentioned. Her attractiveness comes entirely from her character.


The woman described in this chapter has outstanding abilities. Her family's social position is high. In fact, she may not be one woman at all - she may be a composite portrait of ideal womanhood. Do not see her as a model to imitate in every detail; your days are not long enough to do everything she does! See her instead as an inspiration to be all you can be. We can't be just like her, but we can learn from her industry, integrity, and resourcefulness."
                                            *Life Application Study Bible, NIV

What wonderful encouragement! It's easy for us to get out of balance and become so busy that we don't love our families with excellence. However, when we apply our efforts out of reverence to God, we'll be covered by His grace, strength and power to get the job done!