When I first had the idea to break down the character qualities of the Proverbs 31 woman I struggled in my progression by the initial realization that this woman had certain experiences and gone through seasons that I have yet to go through. I thought to myself that women who take on this course may feel it’s not for them, both older and younger, because of the season of where I am writing from. However, as I prayed and continued through my days, God revealed to me that Proverbs 31 applies to every woman, in every season, because the chapter doesn’t focus on where the woman is, but who she is.

My father once told me when I was struggling in preterm labor with my third child to fight with my heart, not my mind, for the promises and Spirit of God are written there. That same Spirit holds each of the character qualities written in the verses of Proverbs 31. It’s a foundation we turn to each morning, and contemplate and meditate on at dusk. Wisdom, value, joy, bravery, are just a few of the characteristics written in our hearts, waiting to burst from our bodies daily. We just have to choose to act in this absolute truth the moment each situation rises and not our initial feelings or the lies being fed to our minds.

It is innate to want to be the best versions of ourselves: to absolutely believe ourselves to be attractive, strong, and put together. I’ve created a project that focuses on perspective and truth. In this course we will work to create a “mirror” of truths that we can individually relate to each character of a Proverbs 31 woman. In the 18th century households of all classes would have their profiles drawn to reflect fashion, family values, and social status. As technology for photography progressed, the art of silhouettes slowly faded out only to become trendy once again in the 21st century. The purpose of this project is to link history with our own identities, no matter where in life we stand, and fill our minds (or profiles) with the truth that gets us by each day. It begins as an outline of our profile (or you can download one of the pre-made profiles in our “downloads” section) with one word we would describe ourselves striving to be every day. For myself, it is love. For other women who have done this project, I’ve seen passion, perseverance, and truth as their main word. Then each week we will discover scripture, quotes, and pictures that fortify the truth of each verse in Proverbs 31. By week eight you will have created a mirror you can look at and draw from when you need to remind yourself who you truly are instead of looking in a mirror and feeling like something else.

If you’ve begun thinking on your first word and find yourself stuck I will share with you the reason and purpose for “woman” as translated from the biblical word “ezer kenegdo”, the word used in the Bible to describe Eve. When my husband and I were dating, we were discussing the roles of husband and wife and I jokingly tossed in the word “helper” that is so often preached as a translation as I was frustrated in feeling like I was just bringing a side dish to the purpose of marriage and sometimes life itself. I was surprised to find out that Brendon had done research and discovered that a better translation for ezer kenegdo was “life giver.” Stasi Eldredge furthers this thought stating, “Eve is a life giver; she is Adam's ally. It is to both of them that the charter for adventure is given. It will take both of them to sustain life. And they will both need to fight together.” (Ransomed Heart). So we see first, as women, we are called to be givers of life. No matter what stage we are in, we are called to engage in developing and sharing experiences with one another in a way that sustains life, deepening the truth of who we are.