Happy Birthday Lee

“Who can find a virtuous wife? For her worth is far above rubies. The heart of her husband safely trusts her.”


Proverbs 31:10–11


Today is my wife’s birthday and as I was praying for her this evening the Lord took me to Proverbs 31 as He often does. What made tonight special was how the Lord focused my attention on the word heart. Not her heart but the heart of her husband. More about that in a minute. If you know my wife you know she loves hearts. All shapes and sizes and made out of just about anything, even rocks. She loves hearts so much she started a business called a_hearts_design where she repurposes old and often times discarded things and makes them into something beautiful, something new. Many of her creations have a heart in the design somewhere and the ones that don’t you can be sure it came from her heart with the hope that it would bless someone else’s heart too.

One of the many things I love about my wife and want to highlight on her birthday is how she does pretty much everything with all her heart. In her mind if its worth doing its worth doing well. When I read Proverbs 31 I read it from a husbands perspective and it makes perfect sense to me why a virtuous wife is so valuable and why the heart of her husband trusts her. It makes sense because God has blessed me with a virtuous wife. Today on her birthday I just want to give honor where honor is due.

Many women read Proverbs 31 and get discouraged needlessly. You can break down each verse and make it your own personal litmus test or you can understand the message is a virtuous wife is one who gives life her best, her all, with all her heart. It doesn’t say she does everything perfectly, the chapter just makes clear that this amazing woman is focused on the needs of others and those needs dictate the course of her day. It’s no wonder so many Mother’s Day messages include verses from Proverbs 31. What is said of the virtuous wife is home is where her heart is and her heart is the beat of her home. The virtuous wife is a servant who enjoys bringing joy to the hearts of those she loves and serves. It’s easy to see why the heart of her husband trusts her because her motives are pure. She wants nothing more than to love God with all her heart and her soul and her strength and there is no question she sets out each day to reveal God’s heart by the way she touches the hearts of those she encounters.

When I read Proverbs 31 my wife jumps off the page as I read. My wife enjoys treasure hunting and finding items to bring home and “willingly works with her hands”. My wife spends a lot of time pulling splinters out of her hands. Like a merchant ship she can grocery shop with the best of them. Almost every morning she rises before sunrise and starts her day. A few times a week she even hits the gym “girding herself with strength”. She loves to plant in her garden and tend to it as it grows. She throughly enjoys the fruit of her labor and sharing it with family and friends too. She’s humble but she looks at her crafty creations and takes joy, especially when someone wants to buy one of her treasures and make it their own. She has no problem working sun to sun.

The end of Proverbs 31 seems only fitting to share in describing my wife to you today as we celebrate her birthday. “She makes linen garments and sells them (or in my wife’s case wooden), And supplies sashes (wood) for the merchants. Strength and honor are her clothing; She shall rejoice in time to come. She opens her mouth with wisdom, And on her tongue is the law of kindness. She watches over the ways of her household, And does not eat the bread of idleness (but oh how she loves bread!). (Today is just another day that) Her children rise up and call her blessed; Her husband also, and he praises her: (I can’t praise my wife enough but I do pray every blessing possible is hers today.) “Many daughters have done well, But you excel them all.” “Charm is deceitful and beauty is passing”, (You are still beautiful if not more beautiful the older you get). “But a woman who fears the LORD, she shall be praised. (And this is why the heart of this husband trusts his wife and praises her. God has first place and everyone else ties for second.) “Give her of the fruit of her hands, And let her own works praise her in the gates.”

Happy birthday Ishtee. Enjoy your day!

I LOVE YOU!