An excellent wife who can find?

This is one of those biblical questions (Prov 31:10) that a lot of people have trouble answering. It seems a kind of rhetorical and, frankly, unanswerable question. Clearly the intent is "No one", right? Well, no. Not "no one". I can.

The passage (Prov 31:10-31) gives a lengthy outline of what might be considered an "excellent wife". What kinds of things are included?

The heart of her husband trusts in her, and he will have no lack of gain (Prov 31:11).

Indeed. Let me tell you about my wife. It might not be fair to say I trust her. More accurately, I know her. And knowing her, I trust her with all my heart.

She does him good, and not harm, all the days of her life (Prov 31:12).

It is not an exaggeration to say that this is true of my wife. Each and every day she does me good.

Verses 13-17 describes an industrious wife. "She ... works with willing hands" and "provides food for her household" and "considers a field and buys it." That kind of stuff. My wife is that wife. For the largest part of our 21 years together she was employed. Even after having set aside the job market, she is constantly employed. "Do you work?" someone might ask. Her correct reply would be "Not for money" because she works continuously.

She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy (Prov 31:20).

My wife is generous. She gives what she can to those who need it. She shares what she has with others.

She is not afraid of snow for her household, for all her household are clothed in scarlet (Prov 31:21).

Okay, so maybe her household isn't clothed in scarlet. But in other versions (both the Latin and the Septuagint), the text is rendered "clothed in double". Either way, the idea is that she's not worried about cold weather because she ensures that her family is properly dressed. And that describes my wife perfectly. She is diligent to make sure we have what we need without resorting to too many extras.

She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness (Prov 31:27).

My wife hates to be idle. Even now, when all the kids have moved out on their own, she takes care of her granddaughter and cooks and cleans and keeps the backyard clean and ... non-stop. She "does not eat the bread of idleness."

Her children rise up and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praises her: "Many women have done excellently, but you surpass them all." (Prov 31:28-29).

Well, obviously her husband praises her. I'm doing it right now. But, indeed, it is my contention that there is no wife better than mine. "You surpass them all." And no complaint is offered by her children. They rise up and call her blessed as well.

January 1st is our anniversary. This one, in fact, is our 21st anniversary. I see it as another opportunity to tell the world that I love my wife. That's a pretty easy thing to do, given that my wife is a model of the Proverbs 31 wife. I can't imagine a better woman than my wife.