This may seem obvious. Every woman is loved by her family, right? In the modern world of messed up relationships, the Proverbs 31 woman has a balanced enough life that her family relationships are still loving and respected.
Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: “Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.”
Proverbs 31:28-29 New International Version
Modern Christian women are expected to balance a career with raising children, keeping the house clean, being a good wife, being a good daughter and sister, while also being involved in church and community. As the saying goes, that’s a lot of balls to keep juggling. While many modern husbands help with raising the children, keeping the house clean, and family relationships, the wife is still the first thought on who to blame if any of those go wrong. Movies, television, and fiction are full of children who have issues with their moms. It makes for better stories if there are parent issues, but in our modern world, it’s so easy for the mother/child relationship to be twisted.
A mom may be too involved in her career or keeping the house perfect, or taking care of her parents that she accidentally neglects her husband and kids. The mom or dad may have such an all-consuming job that they are rarely home and the children may feel abandoned. Maybe a wife or mother is so focused on taking care of her family that her children feel suffocated and never want to go home. Maybe the mother won’t let her children leave her or she focused on one child while accidentally neglecting another child. There are so many ways to mess up the mother/child bond that it almost seems more rare to find a thriving relationship with someone’s mother than to find a child that doesn’t respect or love their mother. (I read a lot of fiction, so this might be an exaggeration.)
Christian Womanhood Is A Balancing Act
It’s complicated and can be stressful, but doesn’t need to be done all the time. My sister and her husband both have demanding careers, but they knew that when they got married. They understood that sometimes she would have to focus elsewhere and he would need to help her and other times she would need to help him so he could focus on his career. They learned to balance each other, not let one area be a problem because their focus shifted.
Being a mom can be like that too. When kids are babies or toddlers, they need more time and attention than when they are in high school and busy with after-school activities. Empty-nest syndrome is when a husband and wife need to focus on their relationship, which they probably didn’t focus on when they focused on the children. Balance for a woman means different things to everyone and probably different things at different times. A Proverbs 31 woman works to figure out how to balance career, family, church, and community in the best way in an ever-changing life. We know we can’t be perfect, but we always strive for the best balance to show God’s love in our lives.
