A lot. And it was 9:00—a half-hour past bedtime. Plates and silverware from dinner, a cutting board covered in rock-hard dough remnants, the salad bowl, at least two dirty pots, and the dirty trays we'd used to bake pizza. Oh, and I'm fairly certain there was at least one colendar to rinse out. Maybe it doesn't sound like a lot, but trust me, tired eyes make wonderful magnifying glasses, and an, “ugh,” rose in my heart.

I rinsed. I scrubbed. I wiped. I scrubbed. I scrubbed. I scrubbed. Goodness—those dough remnants WOULD NOT come off!

Well, I started thinking about the article on Willfulness I'd just written a couple of days earlier. For me, willfulness often makes itself manifest in grumpy thoughts—the opposite of a servant's heart. So then that got me thinking about Proverbs 31, and how industrious she was, and I thought: what part of Proverbs 31 can be applied to what I'm doing right now?

And you know what? That helped me. Standing there, picking the dough off with my fingernails and exhausting my supply of elbow-grease, I was helped by thinking, “She girds herself with strength—she makes her arms strong,” and, “She works willingly with her hands.” It reminded me that a virtuous woman, who's price is far above jewels, does exactly what I was doing, and does it with a truly humble, willing spirit. This is how I work my way as close to that woman as I can get, and this how I try to please the Lord.

So after being uplifted, I thought I'd share with you all, and encourage you to think about whatever task you might not be enjoying at the moment in the light of Proverbs 31.