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When Perfect Isn’t Enough:

How I Conquered My Fear of the Proverbs 31 Woman

By Nancy Kennedy

(WaterBrook Press, Colorado Springs, Colorado, 2003; pp.224; soft cover)

Author Nancy Kennedy sets out on a quest to find out what it takes to be the Proverbs 31 virtuous woman as a wife, mother, daughter, friend, minister, and every other role in which women find themselves. She, like many Christian women today, finds it intimidating to maintain the level of virtue the Bible spells out. Many women are left with a sense of failure, which threatens their confidence through the knowledge of their identity in Christ.

In every chapter, the author describes how she has done everything she possibly can to attain the perceived perfection described in Proverbs 31, even if it means hauling sheep in the back of her husband’s truck so that she can “select wool and flax.” Readers stay engaged with laughter as Nancy finds herself in I-Love-Lucy-type predicaments attempting to become a virtuous woman at all costs. She writes an occasional letter addressed to “Mrs. P” (The Proverbs 31 Woman) in search of hints to be more like her. Although Nancy’s misadventures reveal her naivety in a very literal interpretation of the Bible, she is able to discover that “perfection” is not what God demands of women.

Nancy further exposes this truth saying, “In my Father’s eyes, I already have the perfection of Christ. That means I can stop striving for a goal of flawlessness that I’ll never be able to grasp and instead rest secure in the confidence that I am worth far more than rubies. I am accepted, cherished, and treasured beyond my wildest imagination – even without Meg Ryan’s face and Cindy Crawford’s body.”

Readers have the opportunity to receive all aspects of Proverbs 31 without fear, and with plenty of laughter.

 

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