She puts her hands to the distaff, and her hands hold the spindle. She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy. (Proverbs 31:19-20)
Before she could weave her cloth, she had to spin it. And before the spinning wheel there was the distaff and spindle. Anyway, her hands are busy, but what interests me about these verses are the two pictures of her hands.
She holds her work. But she opens her hand and reaches out her hands to the poor and needy.
That word open literally means spreads out her palm. Picture it. She has her hands wide open and palm up and reaching out.
It’s a picture of openness, compassion.and caring.
But it’s also a picture of trust and thankfulness. She was deeply involved in caring for her family. But ultimately God provided – and she must be trusting that he would continue.
It’s thankfulness and trust that makes caring for the poor possible. As long as I’m afraid about tomorrow and what will happen, I can’t part with anything. I might need it. But she doesn’t hold on for dear life – she opens her hand.
This woman takes her responsibility seriously and shares her blessings. Sounds like a great life balance to me!