Proverbs 31:10 A capable wife who can find? She is far more precious than jewels.
Occasionally, I am still asked to read this selection from Proverbs 31: 10-31, often by mourning sons. Their mom was the greatest mom, the best wife their dad could have had. But over the last fifty years, the idea of celebrating a wife who works like a dog from dawn to dusk, so that her husband can sit around debating “important things” with the elders of the city (vs23). That’s certainly why families don’t ask to hear this as often these days.
But as we approach Mother’s Day, let’s forget all that and move into what it means to be a mom today. Today, in the middle of this pandemic, with schools closed, kids home, jobs challenging, and perennial anxiety about whether or not there will be toilet paper in the store when we need it, it’s time to celebrate the work of those women who mother our world.
A capable mother, who can find?
Her family trusts her to do the right thing.
She teaches by her example to love God and serve neighbor.
She makes sure the home runs well.
The clothes get washed.
The dishes are cleaned.
Meals are planned, groceries purchased, cooking done.
She doesn’t do it all, but she makes sure it all gets done.
When something new comes along, she adapts and adjusts.
She works from a home office set up on the dining room table
She shares space with her fourth-grader and tries to help with the math problems.
The dog goes out, the cat comes in, and she sets up a backdrop for a Zoom meeting
While listening to the fifth grader practice the French horn.
Her job has stopped; she is on furlough and no money is coming in
And she works to make a meal from a bag of rice, some beans and a little spice.
She washes her children’s clothes in the kitchen sink every night
Because they don’t have a change of clothes.
A capable mother; she loves her children through thick and thin;
Many women have done excellently; you are one of them.
We thank God for mothers.
Amen.
Easter blessings, Pastor Virginia
To Believe is to Care. . . To Care is to Do 