Look at that word "seeks" in the fist sentence. She seeks wool and flax, which means it's probably not easy to come by. She may have to make/ grow it, or find it from someone who has. What do you do with wool? You spin it into yarn and knit or sew with it. And we'll learn later in this passage that she clothes her family in fine garments of scarlet, and makes bed coverings for her family, and supplies the merchants with scarves to sell. She does all of this from scratch. I can't imagine not being able to go to the fabric store to buy the amount of whatever I want. These days have made it pretty easy for us wives to select wool. But imagine having to do it all from the very beginning.
Last night I made a clothe diaper. It wasn't just any cloth diaper, it was a Pampers cloth prototype. I am quite pleased with it. I was inspired because I love disposable diapers. They are fast, easy and they keep moisture in for a looonnnngggg time. You won't even know your baby is wet for the fist good long while (is this good? I don't think so. Pampers has made life of a mom and dad easy by being super absorbent) So, we got some free cloth diapers that we've been using for the last few days and they are big, messy, time consuming, uncomfortable, and the list goes on and on. Dan and I agreed that if we went to cloth diapers that it would be solely my department as he wants nothing to do with them haha. But then I look at this passage and realize, hey, this is me finding the good wool. I feel like I'm not giving in to the "easy" way (which I have been doing for the last 7 years) and really trying to figure out how this thing works. It takes about 1hr to make 1 diaper. That's a really long time, but it is so satisfying. I think about how long it would have taken Mrs Proverbs 31 to make garments and scarves and bed coverings (as examples) if she had to go out, find the wool, spin it, sew with it, and then finally it is done. It's a crazy long process.
As for the flax, it's the same story. I think this passage is saying she makes good homemade food :) I love to cook. I love cooking from scratch and the day I have to put something out of a package and warm up in the oven I feel so unsatisfied and a little guilty. This doesn't happen often as the kitchen is where I love to be. The girls do school in the kitchen so I can cook all day so the likeliness of me pulling something out of a box is slim. But to go even further, she grounds up her own flax; flour too I'm sure. I know someone who does this is it is so gratifying to go from start to finish all with your own hands and maybe that's the trick here. Maybe homemade food takes a long time, sometimes all day :) but it is so much nicer to know what you have accomplished.
"She is like the ships of the merchants, and brings her food from afar". I'm not going to get into the logistics of what that could possibly mean; does she go to the ocean coast waiting for fresh new food? does she travel to the farmers all around town? I think it means that she takes time and care into what food she is going to set before her family. They are so precious to her and she wants the best for them. She could very well go to the local discount bin and pick up almost rotten tomatoes and use them right away so they don't go bad (I am guilty of this) or she could take time, selecting the right fruits and veggies. She doesn't want just any old tomato, she wants the ones that would be perfect for the dish she is cooking. The fact that she takes the time to GO and find the foods she needs is pretty cool. Now we have stores on every corner everywhere, again it makes it hard for us to go directly to the merchant ships but maybe think about planting a garden in the next spring. I have big plans, not to have to buy any produce using the gardens I am going to plant. I am so excited about this. Just another thing to accomplish from start to finish.
I know not everyone has the time to be in the kitchen all day, but it is a really satisfying thing to fall in love with cooking and making delicious meals. If you are an M&M's type person, (don't get me wrong, their food is wonderful) but try home cooking. If your kids are picky, start with something you know they will like. The feeling is the opposite when you put so much time into a meal just to have someone say "yuk". My kids are great, even if I can tell dinner was a bomb and I know it doesn't taste good, they'll tell me it's great and eat it all up but I know not all kids have learned that trick haha so start with something they will like and boost your confidence in home cooking.
