Introduction to Rooted Woman of Valor
During my single years into marriage, God blessed me with godly and rooted women for role models. Each of them invested their time and treasure into my soul’s refinement. Their faces line my heart like a portrait gallery of women of valor. Watching their courageous actions and attitudes painted bold strokes of bravery and strength of character on my heart. From my mother-in-law, Ruth, and childhood pastor’s wife, Mrs. Eastep, who became young widows, to others facing life-threatening illnesses or difficult family challenges, each adorns a medal of valor.
Grateful for their impact, I realized after the honeymoon of marriage and ministry, that it was essential that I dig into the Scriptures to give the Master painter the needed time and attention to develop His portrait of me. I longed to become a fruitful woman in my home, ministry, and world. I was aware of potential weeds inside myself and the world around me. Years went by, and pressures increased. Some seemed entangling and even strangling my prayer to live the flourishing life envisioned in the Scriptures and by my women of valor.
Colossians 1:9-12 embodied my heart’s prayer and those of my mentors.
“For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of His will through all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and please Him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to His glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of His holy people in the kingdom of light.” (NIV)
My passion for grow in fruitfulness led me to a personal study of the book of Proverbs to gather wise insights from its pages. Arriving at the last, but not least chapter, Proverbs 31, I knew I needed to spend extended time gazing at the portrait our Lord painted of this fruitful woman.
My previous quick glances at this superwoman made me feel a bit overwhelmed. At the beginning of my in-depth study, I was the mother of three young children. The velocity of the twenty-two verses of this woman’s life reminded me of our busy days. The bright fruit of her actions colored by her attitudes caught my attention. The enduring impact for me came on a reflective journey with this fruitful woman as my mentor and friend. The portrait of her life began to emerge into a sturdy, beautiful tree. The fruit of her life, the anchoring roots, and the resources that nurture her developed a new vision for the upcoming decades of my life’s journey.
