A Proverbs 31 Woman

I bet you have never heard of this Proverbs 31 lady. I cannot not find one word about her on the Internet, so let me introduce you to this awe-inspiring woman with the words from one of my favorite authors, Phillip Keller:

“She was brave, she was beautiful!

Beautiful not only in bodily form, but also in serenity of soul, in shining of spirit.

My earliest recollections of her were of a wondrous woman of warmth, vitality, and overflowing good cheer. Despite the depravity and degradation of the pagan tribes people among whom she lived and worked with such goodwill, there emanated from her an enormous enthusiasm for life.

Her hearty laughter rippled from the depths of her magnificent bosom like clear water bubbling up from a splendid mountain spring. It ran merrily around all who knew and loved her.

From her large luminous brown eyes she pulsed a living light that somehow spoke of sublime inner serenity—a serenity that finds its strength and stability in an intimate acquaintance with God. She knew Him, she trusted Him, enjoyed Him, walked with Him as few humans ever do.

There was nothing pompous or pretentious about her.

She was too dynamic, too full of fun, too totally feminine to indulge in pretense.

Her complexion was almost flawless. Despite the dryness of the African sun; despite the lack of cosmetics available to most women; despite the ravages of tropical disease—her face glowed with a radiance of remarkable joy. Her ready smile; her happy humor, her vibrant voice had won her the admiration of others who often called her “Sister Sunshine.”

Yet her humble home was a typical African frontier house built of crooked, hand-cut poles, plastered with mud, coated with cow dung to repel insects, and thatched with grass.

For her, life was an adventure with God. He and she were constant companions in an unfolding drama of divine design. Nothing that happened to her in her adventuresome and exciting career was ever an accident. Of this she was sure.

It mattered not whether she was planting cuttings of Golden Shower in her garden, or cleaning the ugly ulcer of a fly-ridden African, she could do it with commingled courage, faith and élan.

She would tackle any task with a contagious confidence that carried her through to success. She would shake her head in glee, allowing the long black locks of her lovely hair to shimmer around her in waves. “There is no such word as can’t,” she would chuckle, “Let’s just do it!” And she did.

Her tiny well formed hands and feet were immensely strong. They accomplished more work in her thirty years of life than most women do in seventy. A certain intense determination to succeed and succeed with distinction marked her movements.

She was sturdy, energetic, dynamic, and yet exquisitely dainty. There was a dimension of charming, captivating femininity that seldom surfaces in many of today’s mannish women. She knew she was all woman, she gloried in her charms as a special creation of loveliness. Yet she never paraded her personality in pride or vanity.

A certain wondrous wholesomeness marked her life and conduct. She was born to be brave. She was bound to be beautiful. Life was for living. With joy and gracious generosity she was glad to give and give and give of herself to enrich others.

She was my mother.”

Keller, W. Phillip, Wonder O’ the Wind