VERY LONG OVERDUE - THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN

I was 17 when I first read about the "virtuous woman," and back then I was in my “forming” phase of life, I was not sure I knew myself and at the time marriage, being a woman, a wife, a mother were not thoughts that crossed my mind. My life was lived on the dream of one day owning a castle in one of the Caribbean island with so much money I wouldn’t know how to spend it, the marriage/womanly part of it was all a gray area.
But then as I grew older and started noticing boys, and going on dates, the virtuous woman started to resonate in my mind, and I would constantly ask myself at a point in my relationships if I could see myself being a woman of virtue to this man or if I didn’t think he was worth that type of woman who I knew I could be but knew it would take a lot of work.

The Virtuous Woman
She is very hard to find
I think every woman has the potential to be a virtuous woman, given the right “tools” and with guidance and lots of supplications. By tools, I mean the right partner, about 90% of people end up with the wrong people, for some it is obvious, but for others they may go along life thinking everything is ok, but when you’re with the right person, everything is NOT OK, everything is fantastic, everyday words will seem like love songs and NOTHING, no condition, situation, weather will shake you or take away that perfect feeling you feel within you when you are with the person you are meant to be with and when this happens, you find yourself, being a virtuous woman.

Who can find her? A man who sees his woman as a jewel, who finds a seemingly worthless “stone” and bestows unto it values that make it the stone feel like it is worth more than diamonds. In Miguel de Cervantes’ Don Quixote, the don saw Aldonza a worthless “whore” and he bestowed unto her virtues far more than she could ever deserve, he named her “Dulcinea” a princess with hair made out of gold and she was nothing when he met her, but as the story progressed she found herself and although she wasn’t a princess with hair made out of gold she was able to help Don Quixote prolong his life and find happiness even if for a moment, in her he found virtue.

ORIGINAL SIN
If you have not seen original sin with Angelina Jolie and Antonio Banderas this may be lost on you, the wonderfully told tale is about a man who decides to marry a woman he had never met based on letter exchanges, and through the course of the movie, his life is slowly taken away from him because of his “wife” – She was a woman of virtue, she brought him joy and pain, lots of adventure that he otherwise would not be privy to and in the end he was wiser for the experience and we can say to him, she was a good wife, a virtuous woman.
He trusted her enough to drink the poison she has served him because he knew deep within him that the love and virtue bestowal would eventually kick off (which happened) and she saved him from death. "Virtuousness" although it may refer to pure, of all things good and pleasing to God, should also be taken in the context of the receiver of the virtues, or in many cases the bestower of the virtues. A woman may constantly bring a man grief, cause him pain, take all his money and run, attempt to poison him but in his eyes she is the epitome of the virtuous woman.
It is the love, and care and attention and appreciation for the little things and gratefulness for the large things, most importantly the amount of love the receiver of the virtue gives that determines if he has found a virtuous woman, because every woman has the potential to be trusted, to bring prestige and royalty to their men, to care for their home and children and make them popular among their peers and superior but it is the love, the worth that the man shows his woman and the extent to which he bestows values unto her that determines how virtuous she will be.
And it is evident in the whole reading, it does not start with the virtues of the woman, but the way she will be treated when she is found, and what the man does for her, then it goes into why she will be treated so, and the reading ends with what the man must do.
"Give her everything she deserves, feston her life with praises"
There's a proverb To whom much is given, much is expected may we all find partners who will allow us to be virtuous.

AMEN


THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN (Proverbs 31, 10-31)

Her husband trusts her without reserve,
and never has reason to regret it.
Never spiteful, she treats him generously
all her life long.
She shops around for the best yarns and cottons,
and enjoys knitting and sewing.
She's like a trading ship that sails to faraway places
and brings back exotic surprises.
She's up before dawn, preparing breakfast
for her family and organizing her day.
She looks over a field and buys it,
then, with money she's put aside, plants a garden.
First thing in the morning, she dresses for work,
rolls up her sleeves, eager to get started.
She senses the worth of her work,
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day.
She's skilled in the crafts of home and hearth,
diligent in homemaking.
She's quick to assist anyone in need,
reaches out to help the poor.
She doesn't worry about her family when it snows;
their winter clothes are all mended and ready to wear.
She makes her own clothing,
and dresses in colorful linens and silks.
Her husband is greatly respected
when he deliberates with the city fathers.
She designs gowns and sells them,
brings the sweaters she knits to the dress shops.
Her clothes are well-made and elegant,
and she always faces tomorrow with a smile.
When she speaks she has something worthwhile to say,
and she always says it kindly.
She keeps an eye on everyone in her household,
and keeps them all busy and productive.
Her children respect and bless her;
her husband joins in with words of praise:
"Many women have done wonderful things,
but you've outclassed them all!"
Charm can mislead and beauty soon fades.
The woman to be admired and praised
is the woman who lives in the Fear-of-GOD.
Give her everything she deserves!
Festoon her life with praises!