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As a young wife and mom with a house full of boys, I struggled to keep it all together. Our house was busy and loud most of the time since we homeschooled our boys. A great deal of my days were consumed with teaching and training the boys, mountains of laundry, and trying to cook healthy meals for boys that were bottomless pits.
One day, we finished school early and made plans to meet some friends at the park. Before we left, I wanted to get a head start on dinner so I put a pot of dried pinto beans on the stove, covered them with water and planned to quick soak them so that dinner would be quick and easy to cook when I got home.
Between looking for a lost shoe, trying to find the bb’s to the air soft gun, and getting out of the house in one piece, it was a usual but hectic time just getting out the door. We finally got to the park and the boys all ran off with their friends. I was looking forward to these precious moments of some much needed mom fellowship.
Everything was going according to plan until I saw my hubby walking across the park towards us. What is he doing here, thinking to myself? I guess he got off work early today and decided to join us. I stand up to greet him, give him a hug and a quick peck on the cheek and he says, “Hey are we planning to have beans for dinner?”
Beans? How did he know we were having beans for dinner? Wait the beans, oh no, did I forget to turn the beans off? Oh no! Instead of quick soaking the beans, I burned the pot of beans, and filled my house full of smoke! Thankfully, my superman husband had gotten off work early and found the bean debacle before I burned the house down.
This was one instance where my attempt at being a Proverbs 31 woman did not quite go as planned, but God still used it in our lives for good and it only strengthened my walk.
I long to be an excellent wife and believe this is the kind of wife we should all strive to be in a Biblical Marriage.
But what does it mean to be a great wife? What does that look like?
What does it mean to be a great wife?
Let’s look to our role model in scripture the Proverbs 31 woman. The description of the Proverbs 31 woman begins in Proverbs 31:10 and goes through the end of the chapter. Verse 10 begins with a question.
An excellent wife who can find?
In the ESV it goes on to say,
She is far more precious than jewels.
When it comes to Biblical marriage, what makes a great wife? I believe we find the answer in the following verse Proverbs 31:11:
The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain.
The next 11 verses tell us all the things she does.
She does her husband good and is clothed with strength. The Proverbs 31 woman is wise, a good steward, is diligent, and a hard worker. This is why her husband trusts her and doesn’t have to worry.
We may not make our own bed coverings or make and sell clothing, or many of the other things listed in these verses, but the principle is applicable today.
There is a lot we can learn from the Proverbs 31 Woman example.
Ladies, when we are strong, confident women who love and serve our families well, this enables our husbands to go out into the world and fulfill their callings with assurance. It gives them peace of mind knowing that everything is okay on the home front.
Part of being a great wife means that your husband knows that he can leave the house to go to work, and that you will be okay in his absence. I know my husband is very appreciative of my hard work. I may not receive praise for all the unseen tasks I do on a daily basis; however, he has said on more than one occasion that the only way he can accomplish all that he does, is because he knows that I can handle things at home.
Think about the many ways you can bless your husband by taking care of business at home so that he can work without worrying about you.
Is there a task you can handle for him this week? Maybe it is as simple as dropping his clothes off at the cleaners, or planning nutritious meals at home instead of going out to eat.
Remember, behind every great man is a great woman!
Misty Phillip is a Christian author, blogger, speaker, and podcaster who encourages women to live with vulnerability and a passion for seeking Jesus, studying His word, and growing in grace at MistyPhillip.com. Misty is the host of the By His Grace Podcast: Deep Wounds, Deep Grace - Transformative Stories of Struggle and God's Amazing Grace.Misty is also on the contributor team for A Wife Like Me. She is a pro-life speaker with Save the 1, and a Bible Study teacher at Champion Forest Baptist church.
It is so true that we are a team. For a strong marriage he must trust me and we must work together for God’s glory.