Proverb 31: 10-31, a very familiar passage to all of us which talks about a wife and mother who has multiple roles to fulfill. The difference between many of today's moms and Proverb 31’s mother is that she does her roles in total perfection. Many of us find this woman to be too idealistic to be a practical example.
She is a wife (v10), home maker (v27), real estate investor (v16), vineyard owner (v16), trader (v18), philanthropist (v20), garment trader (v24) and mother.
I went through this text over and over again and tried to understand her success story. I finally found the key verse which we often overlook.
2nd half of V25 in NIV Bible says “She can laugh at the days to come”
RSV reads “She laughs at the time to come”.
The Good News Bible says “She is not afraid of the future”.
I like the Chinese translation “She would laugh with joy when she thinks of the future”. I think this Proverb 31’s Mother has the wisdom to discover this secret.
1. There is no need or no benefit to dwell too much over the past. Past is past. Its over. There is nothing you can do to change it.
2. But tomorrow presents an opportunity. There is opportunity to start afresh. There is opportunity not to repeat what’s considered wrong or unacceptable. There is opportunity to repair broken relationship. I think this is the key factor why Proverb 31’s mother laughs at the days to come.
3. Laughing in anticipation of the future is also a demonstration of faith in the providence of God. It’s like what the Psalmist says in Psalm 23, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me, all the days of my life”. This is truly a demonstration of faith in the providence of God for all the days to come even in the presence of trials and tribulation.
4. I think she laughs because she has full confidence that she could find rest in God. With all the stresses, she learns to cast all her worries onto God. We have to learn to stop daily from the hectic schedule to spend a few moments with the Lord.
I like the words of wisdom from the Serenity Prayer of St. Francis of Assisi. He said, “God, grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can and the wisdom to know the difference”.
The courage to change is something we can all do in the days to come. That’s why we can and should smile in anticipation of tomorrow.
For those of us who are hindered to move forward because of the past. We should be reminded not to be stressed over things of the past because they no longer can be changed but rather to have courage to face tomorrow because tomorrow presents unlimited opportunity of change for improvement and for the better.
