The wife I want to be

Last week my man bought his wedding suit, I had my second last dress fitting the other day and yesterday my mom, sister and Gary met with our caterer to try out the food (I was told it’s amazing) while I was studying and writing my vows. By the way, this task has proven more difficult than anticipated. Loving Gary comes easily, but how do I put in words the jumps for joy my heart makes every time I think of him?! Not easy, folks.

Planning a wedding is ridiculously time consuming so it’s necessary to focus on what’s more important: our marriage, not our wedding. A wedding lasts a day (or 2 days in our case), but a marriage lasts a lifetime. I am eagerly looking forward to our wedding, but is it strange that I am more eager to get this all behind us?! All I want is to be married to Gary.

As with everything else in my life I will base our marriage and the wife I want to be on the teachings of Christ which are found in the Bible.

Proverbs 31: 10 – 31 (NKJV)

Who can find a virtuous wife?
For her worth is far above rubies.
The heart of her husband safely trusts her;
So he will have no lack of gain.
She does him good and not evil
All the days of her life.
She seeks wool and flax,
And willingly works with her hands.
She is like the merchant ships,
She brings her food from afar.
She also rises while it is yet night,
And provides food for her household,
And a portion for her maidservants.
She considers a field and buys it;
From her profits she plants a vineyard.
She girds herself with strength,
And strengthens her arms.
She perceives that her merchandise is good,
And her lamp does not go out by night.
She stretches out her hands to the distaff,
And her hand holds the spindle.
She extends her hand to the poor,
Yes, she reaches out her hands to the needy.
She is not afraid of snow for her household,
For all her household is clothed with scarlet.
She makes tapestry for herself;
Her clothing is fine linen and purple.
Her husband is known in the gates,
When he sits among the elders of the land.
She makes linen garments and sells them,
And supplies sashes for the merchants.
Strength and honor are her clothing;
She shall rejoice in time to come.
She opens her mouth with wisdom,
And on her tongue is the law of kindness.
She watches over the ways of her household,
And does not eat the bread of idleness.
Her children rise up and call her blessed;
Her husband also, and he praises her:
“Many daughters have done well,
But you excel them all.”
Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing,
But a woman who fears the Lord, she shall be praised.
Give her of the fruit of her hands,
And let her own works praise her in the gates.

What the future holds is a mystery. What I do know is that as the years pass by and my faith grows, I will come to understand this passage more. I will always strive to be the woman Proverbs 31 describes. It is a lifetime commitment and I’m ready to tackle it head on!

*I can’t wait to read this post in 5, 10, 15, … years and realize how far I’ve come. I feel clueless at this point.
**At first sight Proverbs 31 might come across sexist so I urge you to read this (part 1) and this (part 2). It puts everything in context.