Proverbs 31:28

"Her children rise up and call her blessed..."

Famous words from a very famous (perhaps infamous) passage in Proverbs. Ah, the Proverbs 31 woman... the woman we all aspire to be while we simultaneously despise... but more on that later.

I love looking up the original translations to get a better feel for what the author was trying to say. Blame it on the English major in me. I was well-taught in the realm of analyzing literature. In leu of Mother's Day, I was looking over this particular nugget... Proverbs 31:28.  When I initially read this passage in English, the image of children telling their mommy she is the best comes to mind. Any mother's dream... including my own. What mom doesn't love to have her ego stroked when her children (and husband) tell her she is the most wonderful mother in the world. Touching, yes, but if you are a smart woman, those words often are followed by some request. Ah well.

Thankfully, this passage means far more than a "World's Best Mom" t-shirt.  The original Hebrew for "rise up and call blessed" actually refers more to an action rather than verbal praise.  Basically, this verse says that her children are well-established and upright (I presume morally) and make good progress in the world.  Every mother's dream is to have kids that are well-adjusted and strong members of society. Sure, they can give you a t-shirt, but that doesn't do you much good if they're smoking pot behind the school during class time. Ok, bad example. I can picture you cringing right about now. My fingers were curling as I typed that.

Truthfully, as a mother of two boys, I can think of no greater honor than to see my sons grow up to be strong, godly men. Sure, I expect they'll make mistakes (maybe even some big ones), but I hope and pray that they will learn well and become better and stronger because of it. I hope they become men that are respected and looked up to. That's way better than a t-shirt or a mug.