She is not afraid of the snow for her household: for all her household are clothed with scarlet.
Proverbs 31:21
This “standard of womanhood” we see here was prepared for the coming season- a good thing to be thinking about now with winter coming to the northern hemisphere [where I live & as I type this]. There have been times when we were not prepared, as a family, for a sudden cold snap or **snow**.
We live in a southern area of the United States and snow is NOT the norm. It really is foolish to spend a lot of money on snow suits and boots and such, BUT I still need to be sure my babies have warm coats and sweaters; and if it comes down to being out in the freezing for longer than a few minutes, layering is handy.
My girls DO have gloves and scarves [lovingly crocheted by my mother] and stockings and socks, and I leave a fleece blanket in the car for those early morning school rides for my oldest [now all the girls] to use until the car heats up.
We get out the blankets right about now [November] and in December I will pull the flannel sheets out for our bed.
But this verse alludes to much more than physical preparation.
While looking up different words used in the verse I can across the last one: scarlet. Does her household all wear red? maybe.
But I read this about where the scarlet dye came from:
When the female of the scarlet worm species was ready to give birth to her young, she would attach her body to the trunk of a tree, fixing herself so firmly and permanently that she would never leave again. The eggs deposited beneath her body were thus protected until the larvae were hatched and able to enter their own life cycle.
As the mother died, the crimson fluid stained her body and the surrounding wood. From the dead bodies of such female scarlet worms, the commercial scarlet dyes of antiquity were extracted.
WOW. Do I so completely protect my family? not only from the seasons of the year but during the seasons of life?
Yes, our children need to learn to face and deal with their problems with Christ’s guidance in their own lives; but as mothers we do have a responsibility to protect, nurture and train our children until such time as God directs us to push them out to use their own wings.
May we seek God’s face and follow our husband’s leadership in keeping our children protected from the snow [harshness, but not hardships-they are for teaching] of this world while continually teaching God’s goodness and strength for such time as they will face it without us, but always with God’s shelter, over them directly. 