Newsflash: You Can't Do It All!

In case you noticed, last time in Biscuits Are The Last Thing On My Mind, only focused on the first portion of Proverbs 31:15.   It would have been too lengthy to have added any further points in that post and you would have visited little Mr. Red X in the top right of your screen if I had gone on further! 

But, I can't skip the last part of the verse, because I think you will find some relief from the guilt associated with trying to be a Proverbs 31 Woman.  Here goes -

She rises also while it is still night
and gives food to her household
and portions to her maidens.
Proverbs 31:15

I've looked around my house, and I just can't seem to find any maidens.  Do you have any at your house?  If you do, let me in on your secret, because I missed the class on how to obtain maidens for your household...It's nothing but Dotson DNA around my here, except for the dog, and she needs a maiden of her own just to deal with her needs sometimes.

Again, as we've discussed in other verses, this is reflective of their culture and we have to keep that in perspective.  Remember who gave these ideas on the Proverbs 31 Woman?  King Solomon's mother gave him these guidelines and she would have been accustomed to households that had maidens or servants.

I have 1 husband.  2 kids. 1 dog and no maidens. 

This is not about the maidens though, it's about the word portions.  It seems as if she is feeding her family and letting her maidens have a bite too, but that's not what this means.  The word for portions is choq and I think you will find you are already pretty good at this word.  It's a governing word and means

• an appointment of time, labor, or usage
• an enactment
  
• a bound   (does the word "boundaries" come to mind?)
  
• a custom
• a task
• decrees
• commandments
• a fixed order

She gave the maidens the rules of her house and she gave them the things they were to do.  Wow, it sounds to me like the Proverbs 31 Woman has some structure in her home and that she delegated well. 

Did you know it's okay to delegate? 

Newsflash:  You can't do it all!

We are often overwhelmed with all that comes our way, but would you cup your ear this way so that you can be certain you hear what my heart wants to say to yours?

You don't have to do it ALL.

Yes, maybe ALL needs to get done, but you are not a failure if you delegate something to someone else.  She managed her household.  She wasn't bossy, she had boundaries and expectations.

And that my friends is okay. 

Doesn't God have boundaries and expectations for us?

Yes, ma'am He does, and you are not some mean, six-eyed ogre for expecting some glimmer of order in your home.  Order is good.  When order is in place everyone can know what to expect in their environment and feel safe there.  Secondly, when there is some form of "normal" or order in our homes, it is much easier to detect a problem, because it sticks out like a sore thumb.  If we have no order and life is total chaos, one of our family members can be hurting deeply, can be influenced by the enemy,  etc and it can go undetected, therefore extending the damage further.

Order is good. 

The kids are capable of cleaning the toilets and making their beds, among many other things.  They are even capable of folding the towels if that's what you need help with.  Yes, we should make sure things get done, but we don't have to be the one who does every single task.   The Proverbs 31 woman was who she was because there were people to help her, and you are not weak, you are not a failure if you need a little cooperation from others in your home. 

I hope that helps you feel a little closer to becoming a Proverbs 31 woman.  It made me feel better..My kids, probably not so much.  They don't like it when I "delegate"!

XOXO,
Amy