For Ladies . . . Advice
Pat Jones
I have always been fascinated by meringue topping. As a young bride, I decided to try my hand at a butterscotch cream pie. I read and followed every instruction from my new cookbook. I had just finished browning the meringue as my husband arrived from work, but to my disappointment, he had no idea what I had made. For a while, my pie baking became limited to the traditional holiday pumpkin pie.
However, with much encouragement from the wonderful pie bakers at our congregation I decided to try again.
The following Sunday, as I entered the building, they could read the frustration on my face. They immediately began to give me very useful advice.
The Bible records good advice given by godly women on many other subjects beyond baking. Naomi, in the book of Ruth, advised Ruth in the steps leading to her marriage to Boaz. “Wash thyself therefore, and anoint thee, and put thy raiment upon thee and get thee down to the floor: but make not thyself known unto the man, until he shall have done eating and drinking. And it shall be, when he lieth down, that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou shalt go in, and uncover his feet, and lay thee down; and he will tell thee what thou shalt do”(Ruth 3:3-4). Ruth, a Moabite woman, became the great-grandmother of King David (Ruth 4:17) as a result of her loyalty to Naomi.
Because of the Samaritan woman’s advice to the men of the city, they went with her to meet Jesus at the well. “The woman then left her water pot, and went her way into the city, and saith to the men, Come, see a man, which told me all things that ever I did: is not this the Christ? Then they went out of the city and came unto him” (John 4:28-30). The Bible does not reveal what became of the Samaritan woman, but several years later the church in Samaria was established (Acts 1:8).
Esther, a Jewish orphan, became the queen of King Ahasuerus (Xerxes). When the Jews in the empire were faced with destruction, she was able to save them by pleading with the king for their lives. Esther, at risk of her own life went before the king (Esther 5:2). At Esther’s request, the king and Haman were invited to banquets. During the second banquet, with Haman and the king in attendance, Esther advised the king of Haman’s scheme to destroy her people. “Then the king Ahasuerus answered and said unto Esther the queen, Who is he, and where is he, that durst presume in his heart to do so? And Esther said, The adversary and enemy is this wicked Haman” (Esther 7:5-6).
These women made a tremendous difference in the lives of those they advised. We should look for women we can count on for their Bible based instruction, faithful examples, and never ending acts of love. Never underestimate the value of helpful, trustworthy, and spiritual advice from godly women.
With their support and advice, I have decided to try the pie once again. -Rt. I Box 109A, Rivesville, WV 26588.