Proverbs 31 Challenge: Quality

She makes linen garments and sells them; she delivers sashes to the merchant.

Proverbs 31:24

There were a few times last year (mostly around holidays) when I went on do-it-yourself marathons. I stumbled on several impressive DIY blogs that showed beautiful photographs of the neatest hand-made gifts and trinkets. About a million and a half pages were bookmarked and I vowed to make a stuffed animal for a friend’s new baby, a collection of flower headbands, fashionable tote bags, and cute fabric-covered journals.

Have you ever tried your hand at making something? You get all these fabulous ideas and daydream about how wonderful your creations will look and how happy and surprised the recipients of your handiwork will be.

In my case, the final product rarely met the standards I dreamt up. It wouldn’t have been a big deal if I hadn’t let it discourage me, but my disappointment kept me from trying again. And without trying again there’s no way I can ever get better.

Today’s verse speaks about the quality of the things the Proverbs 31 woman makes. We already know she makes great clothing for her family and beautiful decorations for her home. Now we see that the things she makes are even good enough to sell at the market. These aren’t itchy knit sweaters and scarves her kids wear because she forces them to!

What we have to remember is that this woman wasn’t born a superhero. No one, not even the great woman this chapter describes, is immediately good at everything she tries. The fact that the garments she made were high-quality doesn’t speak of some miraculous talent. It tells us that she practiced and didn’t give up when things didn’t turn out perfectly the first few times.

Skill isn’t something that appears overnight or that you get the first time you try something. We have to work and practice and learn from mistakes and not let our failures discourage us.