June 12, 2014
In May, the women from the counseling agency where I work
went to Pink Impact at Gateway church.
It’s a Christian women’s conference.
There are a lot of things I learned and certainly there were things that
impacted me. One of those moments was
when the speaker said she found some Bible verses annoying. She said it in a way that was funny and I
certainly laughed but, inside, I was screaming, “Yes! Someone else feels the same as me!” She even referred to the same verse I’ve
always found annoying: Prov. 31:15.
“She gets up while it is night;”
The verse is in the middle of the passage most people call
the “Proverbs 31 woman.” It’s a
description of the model Godly woman.
So, this particular part about her getting up while it is nighttime gets
me because that means she is an early riser….which means she is the polar
opposite of me. I am a firm believer
that God made me this way. I’ve always
been a late nighter and a sleep later.
As a kid, I went to bed on time but I would lie in bed and read until
midnight or sing myself to sleep.
Getting up before 9:00 in the morning means I absolutely have to set an
alarm to wake up that early. Or, I can
easily sleep to about 10:00. In my
younger years, I easily slept until noon or later. That is just my natural body rhythm. So, when I first read that you have to be an
early riser to be a Godly woman, I thought I was set up for failure. It was annoying to me.
Never until this conference did I know that “while it is night” is not a reference to
chronological time! It is a reference to
dark times, struggles, adversity, etc.
Now that makes more sense to me!
The Proverbs 31 Woman rises when it is darkest; she stands up to face
her struggles. Now that is a woman I can
emulate, or at least try to.
My heart is heavy tonight as a dear, dear Proverbs 31 Woman
is nearing her time to leave this earth.
My heart is heavy knowing that I already miss her. She told me not too long ago that she was
truly at peace with whatever happened. I
remember thinking that I’m not so at peace because I have a different
perspective: she’s looking into the
gates of heaven and I’m looking at life without her. My selfish side still stands by that response. But my other side, my more mature side, is,
in some ways, jealous of where she’s going.
And, in another way, I am so immensely proud for her that she is
reaching a life-long goal. Her life is
to be celebrated. And God is to be
praised because I am so incredibly thankful for the Proverbs 31 Woman who showed
me so many things, especially how to get up while it is still night.
One of her favorite songs that we sang so often…
Audra, I just found your blog, and I just found and read this post about rising in the dark. I never thought about it that way either. Oh my goodness, I'm in tears. My heart is so full - you're such a great writer, from the heart. Bless you, friend. Not just because of Lisa's rising in the dark, you have such a testimony and thank you so much for sharing it. You and your family are in my prayers.
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