Day 239: Xena-esque Pearls

After reviewing the statistics for this blog (visitors, when visited, etc.), I realized I could post twice a week instead of only once. I think, also, instead of my usual fare, I'm going to post a series of a projected twenty-one articles over the next twenty-one Tuesdays. Fridays will still contain my weekly Project post; I'm running this as an experiment to see how it does.



"Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies." -Proverbs 31:10


It seems nearly every woman who has a blog or writing outreach at some point writes about the proverbial virtuous woman. Some posts are rote and predictable, others are a-flutter with Victorian lacy-ness and tea cups. I want to do something different.

I will confess. I have never been a fluffy girl and, while opulent luxury impresses and entices me, lace and quirked pinkies never have. Having grown up as the leader of a pack of six boys (and one girl), my interests and pursuits tended toward the intriguingly mysterious and the masculine... on occasion, too much so.

For years I scoffed at "girly" things and carried a thinly-veiled sneer in my heart toward most things feminine, including (flutter, flutter) virtuous womanhood. I never fit in with most girls, tended to avoid large groups of females, and couldn't stand (and yet was attracted to) the giddy gossip and fascination with everything from hair and makeup to listing ideal characteristics of the hypothetical Mr. Right.

Having a fairly conservative and respectable upbringing, it should be no surprise that from my youngest days, I was taught to be a godly young lady (not a bad thing at all). Sadly for me, I chose to subtly buck the system and harbor rebellion toward godly femininity; and it showed. So it should be no surprise to learn the one thing I really hated to hear about was the Proverbs 31 woman.

"Sissy" was the word which scornfully lingered in my mind whenever the topic arose. It wasn't until I was in my mid-twenties that I began to learn some hard and occasionally hurtful lessons all pointing to the fact that guys don't marry "one of the guys" and many men will rise above accepted minimums and treat a woman as a woman if she will let them. Not only that, but men LIKE women to act like women. ::shock::

Around this time, I re-examined Proverbs 31. In verse ten, the whole description starts off with that pressing question: Who can find a virtuous woman? But what exactly does that mean? Is that some princess in a tower, helplessly waiting to be rescued? Is that a forgotten woman stitching hundreds of napkins and tablecloths for her hope chest? Perhaps it is a powerful executive type who earns six figures each year?

Different translations shed a bit of light. Other versions refer to the virtuous woman as excellent, worthy, and valiant. I particularly like valiant; it has such a warrior-esque and triumphant ring to it. To be valiant, one must have valor; a quality of a hero (or heroine), courage or boldness as in battle, bravery, strength.

Then I realized. This namby-pamby, virtuous Proverbs 31 woman I had envisioned for so many years wasn't even close to what was being described here. Dude! The man to whom this letter was written was being advised to actively seek out a really strong woman. Whoa.

In the Hebrew, the word which means "who can find" (maw-tsaw') is not just talking about halfheartedly looking around, it means "to come forth" and "to attain." This is a very purposeful directive to find and acquire this strong woman.

The Hebrew word "chayil" (khah'-yil) is translated in the King James Version as "virtuous," yet the meaning of the original word is so much more powerful - though if you delve into the meaning of the word "virtuous," you will find the same gist. "Chayil" refers to a force. (ooOOoo) What kind of force? This word could be describing a force of "men, means, or resources; an army, wealth, virtue, valor, strength."

Yikes! We're not exactly seeing the description of a sissy. What's even more interesting, the dude was told to go out and find someone who exemplified those strong, powerful characteristics.

Now before you jump up from your desk and run out the door with a tribal Amazonian yell to extol the virtues of Xena: Warrior Princess or Sheena: Queen of the Nile, realize that the last word in the description is "woman."

How do we take such strong, forceful, powerful characteristics and package them as a female that is not "one of the guys"? Good question. I'm still asking that myself and will hopefully delve deep enough in this series of articles to answer those questions for you, but really, I'm hoping for answers for myself.

This blog is about the Ruth Cooper Project, and I do emphasize "project." I am on some sort of journey to find who I am (epic music begins to soar in the background); who did God make me to be? I am so blessed to have each of you as part of my life and as readers and participants in this Project. You are vital; make no mistake about that!

One other thing really struck me from this verse. This valorous woman is valued far above rubies, or so the King James says. Did you know the actual word in the Hebrew is "paniyn" (paw-neen')? This word translates as "pearl" but it also means "redness," thus, I would imagine, the translation into "ruby." That bothered me, because I've always thought of pearls as cream or pastel; so what's with the redness denoted in the translation?

Well. I researched and discovered that ancient pearl fisheries were mainly in what we know today as the Persian Gulf and the Red Sea. Living in these areas is a large, fairly delicate oyster known as "pinna" or "wing-shell" in Hebrew. Occasionally, this particular type of oyster produces a translucent pink pearl; something that was so rare its rarity caused it to be highly prized and therefore, extremely valuable.

Pearls, throughout history, have been regarded as symbols of purity, innocence, honesty, harmony, and wealth... even a symbol of Jesus Christ himself. There are no pearls in the precious stones forming the foundation of the heavenly Jerusalem, there are no pearls in the breastplate of the high priest... pearls are used when referring to sharing the salvation message (pearls) with those not ready to receive it (swine) and when describing the very gates of heavenly Jerusalem itself.

All this rich symbolism and I think my favorite comes from the very construction of the pearl itself. No pearl is made without great irritation and pain to the oyster in which it resides. The pearl is the result of the oyster dealing with an irritating bit of sand or grit; and the transformation from irritant to lustrous beauty is breathtaking.

This is how I want to be. I want to be that strong, brave, and powerful woman that shines with the luminous glow of feminine beauty. I want the world to see the transformation God has worked within me; taking my hard edges and pain and irritations and transforming that into soft, glowing visage... something priceless and something my husband will treasure.

Jason worked very hard to have me be his wife... he went out and saw someone he wanted to spend his life with (me... ::giggle::). That wasn't the end of the story; it was just the beginning. He persevered, he fought, he persisted and after the longest two-and-one-half years, he acquired that which he desired. He saw something of value and I want to be sure I am (and continue to develop into) that strong little pearl he believes me to be.

Being a virtuous woman is not easy and is certainly NOT for sissies or the faint-of-heart.