Knowledge and Life Skills.

As I was working towards the goal of preparing for a future marriage, I knew that if I wanted to be a successful wife, mother, and homemaker, I needed to learn multiple life skills. The list is never ending, but simply having a desire to learn makes a complete difference in whether a woman will be able to follow God’s plan for her life. The scripture is chalk full of references to knowledge, wisdom, and learning. Proverbs especially has a lot to say on the subject.

“By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding is it established; by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches. A wise man is full of strength and a man of knowledge enhances his might.”(Pro 24:3-5). Seeking after knowledge will bring us strength, treasures, and godly riches. God is always willing to lend wisdom and knowledge; all we have to do is ask. “Yes, if you call out for insight and raise your voice for understanding, if you seek it like silver and search for it as hidden treasures, then you will understand the fear of the Lord and find the knowledge of God. For the lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.”(Pro 2:3-6).

We should be hungering and searching after knowledge and understanding; as if it were a priceless treasure. There are different kinds of knowledge, and all of them are to be sought after. Not only can we profit from learning skills, but we can also profit from becoming knowledgeable in multiple subjects. A woman who can talk knowledgeably about politics, the Bible, history, sports, and many other subjects can be a very valuable asset to a husband.

The same is true for a woman who knows how to use a computer well, can handle the family bills, knows finance wisdom, has business skills, research experience, etc…. The more I looked at this, the more I understood why knowledge and wisdom were so stressed in the Bible. “Blessed is the one who finds wisdom, and the one who gets understanding, for the gain from her is better than gain from silver, and her profit better than gold.”(Pro 3:13-14). God commands us through the words of Solomon to seek after wisdom. “Get wisdom; get insight; do not forget, and do not turn away from the words of my mouth.” (Pro 4:5).

There will always be another skill to learn, more knowledge to find, and more wisdom to seek after. A “perfect” wife for instance, would need to know how to for example: care for, train, and love two small children, plant and keep a garden, keep a clean house, dress in a way that attracted her husband, fix a toilet, do laundry, make homemade ice cream, cookies, and other cooking. And that would all be in the course of just one day.

That doesn’t include all the other things she would have to do in the course of a week. Such as grocery shopping, church activities, taking the kids on an outing, balancing the checkbook, caring for the yard, changing the air filter, refilling the oil in the car, being able to talk knowledgeably on a subject that interested her husband, or many other things she may do.

There are plenty of things that are handy to know as well. Like which plants in your neighborhood are edible, and which are poisonous. Or what to do when your husband or kids get sick, what the effects of immunizations, certain foods, or certain medicines might have on your family’s health. The list goes on and on.

This is one of the greatest adventures of a woman’s life; is the opportunity to spend those years she yearns after a husband in eagerly searching after knowledge and wisdom that will one day benefit the man that God gives her.