​Snow! What wonders and fears are conjured up at the mention of that word. I have seen my fair share of snow and often it has been a delight. As a child, I lived for a short time in North Dakota, and I remember building a snow dugout, like an igloo, with my brothers and dad. When I walked to school one time, I remember a wall of snow several feet tall on either side of the sidewalk, which was shoveled. It was amazing. I also have memories, not quite so fond, of shoveling snow in Ohio as a teenager. That was hard work for sure, but good for building muscle and enjoying the beautiful white scenery. When I started driving, snow became less delightful at times. Several driving incidents are etched permanently in my mind that involve snow—one in which I slid off the road into the median. Yes, snow holds dangers as well. As a child, I loved to frolic in the snow and with good boots, a snowsuit, high quality gloves, and a hat, I would enjoy hours of play. But there were other times when I didn’t have adequate clothing, and though the snow was enticing and delightful, I was soon frozen to the bone and back quickly taking refuge in the comfortable indoors.
 
This insufficient clothing problem happened with my own children too during a big Ohio snow. For some reason, they didn’t have proper gloves and grabbed some socks to put on their hands. Out they dashed into the snow to make snowmen and hurl snowballs. Before long, they were back in with bright red fingers. Their soaking wet, soiled, makeshift gloves lacked the properties necessary for the snow’s fury and cold. Looking back, I don’t even remember why they didn’t have proper gloves. In any case, I was not much like the Virtuous Woman in this. She prepared for the snow and all her household were warm and cozy when it came, and she was free from fear and fretting too…and also from frozen fingers.

​In Proverbs 31:21, the Virtuous Woman is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.

Last year there was to be a new spring musical performed in our area called Letters From Luke which retold the stories from the Gospel of Luke (and a few stories form the book of Acts). Since our family had participated in the Christmas musical, we were asked to audition. Deciding we would be too busy to make the commitment, we declined and went about our busy winter schedule. Soon however, we received an email saying there was an emergency in the cast as a key male actor dropped out and the play was in jeopardy. Always willing to help anyone in need, my son Anthony said he would make the commitment so the musical could continue. We phoned the director, who was overjoyed, and she asked how many of us could be in the play because they were still several people short. ​

​One day I was walking down the hallway in my home in Ohio singing, “He has made me strong. He has made me strong. I will rejoice for He has made me strong….” Now I often do sing as I go about my day, and it is not unusual for me to mix up words from various songs like I had done in the above example where the song actually says, “He has made me glad. He has made me glad. I will rejoice for He has made me glad.” The funny thing is I didn’t even realize that I had made an error in the lyrics until I was thinking about writing this down, but the mistake turned out to be a good thing because God taught me much by it.

​As I was singing, all of a sudden, I came to a screeching halt as the question, “How has He made me strong?” flashed through my mind. Almost as quickly the answer came: by carrying burdens—weights. Wow! There was a twofold meaning right away in my heart as I stood there in the hallway. 

When I was a child, I remember many children whose mothers were sleeping when they left for school in the morning. Not my mom! She was up fixing me and my brothers breakfast (Cream of Wheat, soft boiled eggs and such) and we also had a time of prayer together before we headed off to school. As we got to be older teenagers with differing morning schedules, we often fixed our own breakfast (there was always something on hand) while our mother cared for our new little siblings, but we still had our daily time of prayer before leaving for the school day.  Proverbs 31:15 says the Virtuous Woman riseth also while it is yet night, and giveth meat to her household, and a portion to her maidens.  My mom did indeed rise in the early morning and gave us food throughout our life—physical food and also spiritual nourishment as well. 

Proverbs 31:14 says the Virtuous Woman is like the merchants’ ships; she bringeth her food from afar. We must not be so quick to spiritualize everything in Scripture (though I think that we can safely draw some applications in time), but first let us actually consider what is being stated here by God in His Word. 

Proverbs 31:12 states that the Virtuous Woman will do her husband good and not evil all the days of her life.
 
Many young girls reading this verse think perhaps this sounds like a very easy task. They imagine a sort of knight in shining armor who comes to sweep them off their feet and whisk them to a wonderful land of romance and togetherness where they only desire to do this brave, kind man good and never evil….or maybe they just expect a good Christian young man to come calling, and that since they both love Christ, doing him good will sort of just come naturally.