I'm Living in a Cardboard Box!

That's how I've felt recently.  The process of moving has turned my very neat, clean, orderly home into a chaotic mess.  Want a glimpse of that mess?  Here it is. 

Multiply that by about 1 billion and that's how many cardboard boxes are in our little apartment.  I have more bruises from accidentally bumping into them than I care to count. 

I am very excited about our move though!  In just a few more days, I can start unpacking and (hopefully) life will return to a state of normalcy.

This past month has been a crazy experience for Lester and I.  We have learned so much!
1.  We have clearly seen God guiding, directing, and providing for us in the process of looking for and buying our first home.
2.  We have discovered that we actually feel like grown-ups now.  Buying a house is a pretty big deal!  We're not just two little kids playing house anymore.  On the serious side of that, we are learning the need for wisdom and discernment in decision making.
3.  We are daily learning new aspects of trust, patience, and contentment.
4.  (On a personal note)  I have learned  am learning to work with "willing hands."  Let me be completely honest with you,  I have failed in this area more than I have triumphed.  Too many times, I have found myself grumbling, complaining, sulking, and growing angry about packing - the work it includes, the mess it makes of my house, the never ending-ness of it all. 

In my Bible study on being a godly woman/wife  I have been focusing quite a bit on the Proverbs 31 woman.  One particular phrase caught my attention the other day as I was reading the passage, and I just had to study it out for myself.

Proverbs 31:13 says, "She seeks wool and flax, and works with willing hands." 

The last part of the verse, especially the word willing, is what I focused on.  From what I understand, the Hebrew form of the word that willing stems from literally means pleasure.  It also carries the idea of delighting in or taking pleasure in something. 
Some commentaries I read defined her "willing hands" as industriousness.  An industrious person, by definition, is someone who is hardworking and devoted, working tirelessly, energetically, and diligently. 
Matthew Henry shares this view on the Proverbs 31 woman's work in this verse: "She goes about it cheerfully and dexterously, lays not only her hand, but her mind to it, and goes on in it without weariness in well-doing."

I have to say, I am very rebuked when I read of this woman's "willing hands."  Her work is not one of reluctance like mine is so many times.  Her work is something that she takes pleasure in, something that she chooses to devote all of her energy to.  The woman who chooses to work with "willing hands" is one who does her husband good (v. 12).  The Christian who chooses to work with "willing hands" is one who demonstrates a fear of the Lord (v. 30).  I must ask myself, am I that woman?  Am I that Christian?