I was blown away when I read the small print once about Proverbs 31 in my Amplified Bible.  My Bible says the purpose of this invaluable chapter is that it is first of all intended for young men.  It is the mother's God-given task to provide youth with this information directly from its inspired source, letting them grow up with it in their consciousness.

This morning I was doing the Bible Study, Proverbs People with my boys.  The section we covered today was on Diligence.  At the end, the lesson began referring to the qualities of the Proverbs 31 woman.  I told my sons that chapter was written for them and I needed to discuss it with them.  Why, they asked, for my three boys are under twelve and don't even like girls yet.  Because, I told them, they need to think now about the kind of women they will choose in the future.  I told them this chapter was intended for them as young boys and they needed to listen to the qualities of a good wife.

Then for language arts, my two oldest boys had to write a paper on the qualities they would look for in a wife.  The youngest can't read so he didn't have to.  I was quite taken with their responses.  They made a list, both of them wanted the same qualities, and we compiled their lists into a report on their perfect woman.  She is as follows:

I hope my wife will love me.  I hope she will be diligent, godly, nice, hard-working, and pretty.  I want my wife to be creative with her children.  She will homeschool.  She will like to read to them, play with them, be fun-loving, intelligent, and good to the children.  She will not spoil them or be a slave to them, but will punish them when necessary.  She will not be abusive; instead, she will be loving, sweet, funny, and playful with the children.  She will let the kids have dogs and be a lover of all animals.  She will wake up early and plan her day.  She will not be grumpy.  She will like the same things as me, and enjoy trying new things.  She will enjoy cooking, art, and history.  She will wash the clothes and clean the dishes.  She won't be lazy or scream or be dumb.  She will allow me to go to the army and let me do the things I want to do.  She won't watch too many terror movies.  She will not hate me.  This is my idea of a perfect wife.

I have been praying for their wives for years.  I hope their wives will be as they described.  And when their hormones run amok,  I hope they will still look for these same qualities in their wives!