She maketh fine linen, and selleth it; and delivereth girdles unto the merchant.
Proverbs 31:24
She understands a trade. She knows an area of business and takes advantage of the market, thus earning some income. This has been talked about earlier in the chapter also.
She knows that her merchandise is good. This woman has worked in the night hours to furnish product to the merchants. She has remained a light to her family during the dark times [possibly of financial struggle].
She is not afraid to lay hold on work. She has learned to give to the needy. She has proven to have a mind to reason out business.
While she could have {and so can we} become involved in a myriad of business opportunities: soap-making, farming, animals, child-care, artist, etc… she did become involved in clothing and material construction {as well as a little farming}. We see here that she made fine linen. She constructed girdles to sell.
I find it encouraging to notice that, while it does say she was not idle and looked well to the ways of her household [further on], it does not say that there were never days of disorder or frustration.
I am positive she had days of being tired. She WAS human. But she also relied on God for strength {she feared the Lord in verse 30}.
[I do understand that this woman is simply the advice of a mother to her son on looking for a wife, but I think the fact this type of lady’s description made it into Scripture means this type of life is more than just a lofty aspiration.]
Life is messy. Husbands are not always agreeable {and neither are we!}. Children are often chaos waiting to explode. She took care of her family and home to the best of her ability. And she learned a trade. Incidentally, she learned a trade that benefited her family [growing fruit and constructing clothing]!
These things did not happen in a day. Neither did they happen in one year. This chapter is the culmination of her life. It does not say she bought land every year or even planted vineyards every year. It does not say she made linen every season her whole life. These are simply things she did-at some point in her life.
And while I am busy these precious, few, fleeting years training my children to be good and how to do household chores with me, I can be learning and preparing for a time when they will not require my full-undivided-attention-every-waking-moment. It will come. I think the fact that the only time this lady’s children are mentioned is when they rise up to call her blessed attests to that.
