Wholly Beautiful Hands

“Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with your might…”

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Some of you may have seen this unusual video that Tim Challies linked to on his blog yesterday…

Although we could watch this video and then walk away thinking mainly about how strange Ellen Sirot’s life must be, I think there’s a greater lesson that should draw our attention. As I watched this lady describe all of the things she doesn’t do with her hands in order to maintain their beauty, I couldn’t help but feel a great deal of sadness for her.

“Sad?” you might ask, “Why in the world would you feel sad for a woman who takes home a nice fat paycheck for only pretending to do housework?” And surely with only a surface glance at this story, we could develop the mistaken impression that Ellen Sirot has one of the sweetest gigs out there. I mean, which one of us wouldn’t enjoy having hands with a decent manicure for a day, let alone, for over 15 years?!!

Yet for all of the money that they make, I wonder if this lady’s hands are truly beautiful at all. Of course, there’s no question that Ellen Sirot’s hands are beautiful in the world’s eyes; she has the bank account to prove that, but are they beautiful in the eyes of the only One whose opinion matters? We need only take a look at His description of the beautiful woman of Proverbs 31 to find the answer to that question. How does she make sure her hands stay beautiful?

• She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands. (v. 13)
• She considers a field and buys it; with the fruit of her hands she plants a vineyard. (v.  16)
• She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. (v. 19)
• She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. (v. 20)
• Give her of the fruit of her hands and let her works praise her in the gates. (v. 31)

While a hand model must spend her life protecting her hands to ensure they stay beautiful, a godly woman will focus her attention on utilizing her hands for the benefit of others. In God’s opinion, busy hands are beautiful hands. Although your hands may never end up on the cover of a magazine, you can be confident that every dish washed, floor scrubbed, and nose wiped for the glory of God has enhanced the beauty of your hands in ways that gloves and moisturizing cream never could.

A woman with hands beautiful enough for modeling may be unusual, but rarer still is the woman whose hands stay busy modeling true beauty. Although her fingers may never grasp a nice fat paycheck, in God’s eyes, a woman with the hands of a servant will forever remain a treasure of priceless worth.

 “Take my hands, and let them move
At the impulse of Thy love;
Take my feet, and let them be
Swift and beautiful for Thee.”

Photo: foxiq 

Men, Prayer, & Pornography

 

The True Woman blog has posted some terrific resources this week for both single and married women alike. The first post I want to draw your attention to is an article written by Candice Watters called “How to Pray for a Future Husband. Here’s an excerpt:

What if God answers your prayers differently that you want Him to? He is able to transform the desires of your heart to align with His, and to satisfy you, completely. We may never be able to understand this with our finite minds, but the Holy Spirit makes it possible to grasp it in our spirits, so that we may pray with Jesus, “Thy will be done.”

I’m amazed that God doesn’t ask us to begin there, or require us to deny that we have real requests and desires. Not only does Philippians 4:6 instruct us to “let [our] requests be made known to God,” Jesus modeled that in his prayer in the garden…

It was only after He prayed, “if there is any way, let this cup pass,” that he prayed, “not my will, but yours be done.”

The whole point of prayer is to grow in relationship with God. The more we talk and listen, the more He shapes the conversation. As we grow closer to Him, our desires shift from what we want—what we think we most need—to what He does. His desires become our desires.

Read Candice’s entire article HERE.

Another great post called ”A Hope-Filled Conversation on Guys and Pornography” contains an audio interview with Tim Challies (author of the book Sexual Detox) and his wife Aileen. Tim and Aileen tackle several tough questions that Christian women often ask about men and pornography such as:

• If a man isn’t interested in having sex with his wife, is that an automatic indication that he’s addicted to pornography? 
• If a single woman is dating, should she try to figure out whether her boyfriend’s addicted to pornography? Do single women have any hope of getting pure men? 
• How can we as women help men with this struggle?

This post also contains links to several additional resources which will provide help to anyone dealing with the damaging effects of pornography.

Listen to the interview HERE. 

Photo: jamie brelsford

Precious Picks

More great links I came across over the last week…

Trophy Kids
John MacArthur encourages parents to make sure their goals for parenting line up with the Lord’s, “God’s goal for parenting is much loftier than mere behavior reformation. He wants our children’s hearts, and our goals as parents must reflect His.”

The Myth of Marital Compatibility
In an article on the Mars Hill Church blog, Phil and Jen Smidt address common misconceptions about compatibility and offer 5 tips to becoming more compatible within marriage, “Instead of finding a compatible mate, Christians are instructed to marry and become a compatible mate. This requires the grace and transformation of Jesus–good news to those already married who are struggling to live in unity with their spouse.”

Isaiah’s Story
Another beautiful adoption story from Together for Adoption has been making the rounds online lately. If you haven’t seen it, you need to check it out. “On one of the chairs was a small little bundle of blankets, and I thought that it was moving. To be honest, I thought maybe it was a puppy wrapped up in a blanket…I began to unwrap the blankets and it was just a really tiny baby.”

Prayer Warriors
Tim Challies is blogging from the True Woman Conference in Fort Worth this weekend. His first reports have been very encouraging, “One thing I’ve loved to see at True Woman is the very obvious reliance on prayer. This conference is soaked in prayer, bathed in it.”

Illustration: Svilen Milev