I’ve been thinking a lot about strength as we approach this new small group, and it keeps surprising me, this mental unwrapping turn by turn, peeling away words and finding it many-layered…changing shape, even contradictory as you get deeper.

I admire strength in others: the strength of the bold, the confident, the decisive, the brave. I recognize the strength of conviction, the determination to succeed, the ambition to accomplish and lead. Strength is power.

But the word shows up in some pretty strange verses of Scripture, and the more I think about it, the more I see it in the small hidden places of life, as quiet and foundational as the change of seasons and the sun and the stars. Strength is what to look for in a wife, according to the King’s mother recorded in the Proverbs of the King. And this kind of strength is of the heart, of the mind, of the character.

“Who can find a virtuous woman? for her price is far above rubies,”  the wise royal mother points out. The original descriptive word is hayil….strong, like a soldier or an army, powerful, valorous, a force to be reckoned with.  And we translate it noble, virtuous, excellent– all our highest words for Good. The down-deep building blocks kind of Good that is settled and dependable, rooted in faith and God’s love. The Musician-King knew it too: “My health may fail, and my spirit may grow weak, but God remains the strength of my heart; he is mine forever.” (Psalm 73:26) I suspect that this kind of person isn’t even aware of strength, most of the time, like the heroine who is still in the middle of her adventures, setting her face to the goal, not sure how the story will end yet.

I know women like that, have seen them quietly and gladly doing what needs to be done: reading stories and patching “owies” and rocking to sleep; taking meals across the road to an aging father each day; going to work early and coming home weary to help with homework and chores; keeping watch to the end by a sister’s bedside, through the last stages of cancer; listening earnestly to the outpourings of teenage drama and praying without ceasing; patiently washing yet another load of laundry and scrubbing out the stains, mending the torn; choosing to start all over again as a mother in order to raise a grandchild; mopping up muddy footprints and sorting the endless piles of details a family leaves behind in every room.  Life is messy and women are called to be the ones who bear it, straighten it, keep track of it, soothe it– so that families can grow and be nourished. This is strength too and the kind God calls beautiful.

Strength sounds big, but acts small. Strength seems great but stoops to help the weak. Strength is goodness in action. Strength mirrors Christ who came as a child and gave His innocence for our guilt. Strength like that serves… forgives… perseveres… bends to the weight of others’ burdens… and keeps on loving even when it is hard.

I have a feeling that “becoming a woman of strength” might look a lot different than we think it will, by the time we are finished with this study.

“Her children arise and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: ‘Many women do noble things, but you surpass them all.’ Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised. Honor her for all that her hands have done, and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.” (Proverbs 31:30-31)

“…the most freeing place for a soul is in the abandonment to the will of God.” (Ann VosKamp)