Her husband does safely trust in her….. Proverbs 31:11
I know you will enjoy Suzette's story as she shares one way she has found to be Proverbs 31 woman. Perhaps you can identify with her?
The woman most of us are striving to be like is Mrs. Proverbs 31. I always like when I find myself living up to one of “her” verses (10-31). It gives me the feeling that I can take that verse and tuck in under my belt and move on to the next one. And, yes, eventually one of those verses inevitably will slip out as we go about our business as women, wives, and/or mothers and then we need to work on it again.
Recently, verse 11 struck me in a totally different way than ever before, in a situation that I had never heard this verse referenced to.
Here is my story.
I don't know how it is in your home, but ever since our daughter was born, I have been the one who wakes up when the kids make a noise. My husband's job requires that most days he spend his time driving from job to job and occasionally some days have him working into the evening, so I decided that I would be the one to answer the midnight calls from the children. After all, I have the option to take that “recommended” nap when the kids take theirs….
Our children's rooms are across the house from our bedroom, yet they can sneeze or sigh and my eyes immediately open. So you can only imagine that if they fuss or cry in their sleep, I am already half way to their room before the sound has finished passing through their lips. My husband, however, sleeps through all of it.
When our son, Ian, was an infant and eating every 3 hours, Brian, my darling husband, offered to sleep in the living room with the baby so I could sleep uninterrupted for as long as possible between night feedings. He volunteered to handle everything and would only wake me when the baby cried to be fed (we were exclusively breastfeeding so he could not help in that area).
At some point in the dead of night, I heard my infant son fussing. I waited a moment until I realized the fussing was not being appeased. I got up, went to the living room, and laughed.
My husband was on the couch, Ian was in his bouncy chair/cradle right next to Brian, and he was sleeping through it!
I picked up my son, turned on the TV, and began to feed him.
Halfway through the feeding, Brian woke up and looked at the bouncy chair. He jumped when he saw that the baby was missing!
I chuckled, and that is when he noticed me. He asked if the baby had cried!
Recently (about two and a half years later), Brian asked if both kids slept through the night, (which the little guy had not), and that is when it dawned on me.
The reason my husband is able to rest so well at night (and doesn't hear a sound) is because he “safely trusts in me” that I will hear the kids and get up to meet their needs (which I don't mind at all).
I was honored in a way I had never been before. By meeting our children's needs in the middle of the night, I am actually meeting a need in my husband to get the rest he needs so he can go to work in the morning.
My husband can literally rest, assured that I will care for the children.
The next time you have to get up to care for your child(ren) in the middle of the night, remember, you are meeting the needs of two people- your child and your husband.
And after you have tucked your child back into bed, you can tuck verse 11 of Proverbs 31 under your belt and move on to another verse the next day.
Suzette Ladouceur and her husband Brian will be celebrating their 10th anniversary this summer. They have two children- Addie (turning 6 at the end of the month) and Ian (2). You can read more about Suzette and what God teaches her in the everyday moments of marriage, motherhood, and life at The Joy of Homemaking.