Final Thoughts On Proverbs 31

I woke up this morning sad that our time of studying Proverbs 31 together is over. In writing out these devotions every day, I have learned many things, some of them completely unexpected, that I haven’t really shared, mostly because I hadn’t digested them yet. I thought I would take this last day and tell you about some of them.

As I think I have mentioned before, I’ve been getting up early so I can write before my girls wake up. I had developed a bad habit of sleeping in since my oldest daughter often does not wake up until 8 or 9 am. But in the last month, I have realized that I don’t really miss my extra few hours of sleep most days, and I have enjoyed the peace and quiet of the morning hours before the hustle and bustle of the day. Having just a little bit of quiet in the morning has helped me to be more patient the rest of my day. I find that I have fewer times where I am frustrated or angry. All because I’m getting less sleep every day. Honestly, it has more to do with the fact that I am spending more time in the word, not just reading it but studying it. There is a depth to my devotion time that I was missing and it has allowed God to show me more of what I need to be focused on and what I need to work on in my life. I don’t expect that this time will last, especially since I am expecting again, but I will gladly take this season and use it to learn all I can.

I have also learned that it is really hard to write about something that I wasn’t doing myself. There were days when I was talking to the Lord saying, I can’t write that! I’m horrible at organization! (Just ask my mom or my college roommate, they can tell you just how unorganized I can be.) And yet that is what God gave me to write for the day. So then I was convicted by my own writing and forced to face my own failings. When I write it, it sounds like such a bad thing. But it has been one of the biggest blessings to me in this whole process. My life is much more in order than it ever has been before and more than that, I am enjoying being organized! I feel like by being faithful to write what God gave me to write each day, He is blessing me with the ability to do something that has always been so hard for me. It’s nothing short of a miracle that my laundry is getting wash, folded and put away every week. I have never been good at keeping up with it. And I’m sure it is a blessing to my husband, who doesn’t have to go basket diving to find socks and shirts each morning! :D

And I have had to learn again that my best laid plans are not always God’s plans. I have had plenty of times in my life where I thought I knew where I was going and when God finally got through to me, His path was a different direction than mine. There were many days where I would start to write and end up in a totally different place than where I was planning on going for the day. I ended up where God had wanted me all the time. And it left me so thankful that God is able to guide me where He wants me to go, even though I had determined different path for myself.

So I want to encourage each of you who have read these devotions, to share something that God has taught you this month. It doesn’t have to be a long, wordy piece, just a quick note about the lesson or lessons that God has used Proverbs 31 to teach you. I know most of you probably don’t have a lot of time to write volumes, although I’m sure some could, but in sharing stories of what God has done in our lives, we are able to remind each other of His wondrous works. And that is something we should celebrate together. Let us praise Him for all He has done and live our lives to give Him the glory and honor due His name!