THE MODERN DAY PROVERBS 31 WOMAN

A while ago,there was big debate on that other social network on whether the Proverbs 31 woman still exists. I kept my opinion to myself and my circle,because they are not deep and thank God,they have a practical view of things. I'm gonna try explain my view on the issue and hopefully make you see it from my vantage point.

 I truly believe the Proverbs 31 woman is very much existent and she's a next progression of every Christian woman who wants to get married. However,she now comes in a very modern way. Firstly,let me get this out of the way. The Proverbs 31 woman is a wife. She performs duties for her household,which is made up of a husband and children. I found it a bit odd that the chief lobbyists of the "The Proverbs 31 woman is dead" movement,are very single. I mean, the person who sees the wife in action is her husband; that's one way to prove that she's no more. Let me explain why I say she's normal.

I've seen my aunt,who's married,wake up in the morning,making preparations for her kids before they go to school and sorts out her husband (my uncle) for work. Only then does she prepare to go to work,then later come back and handle supper for the whole family. She may not work the field,but she sure brings the carrots home.

The bible I read outlines these as the makings of a Proverbs 31 woman. There's really nothing spectacular about her.

I'd like to bring across the fact that we now live in a different era from the biblical version of this woman. The reason she had to wake up in the morning is because there was no electricity and she had do hand work (v 13) because back then,women were not as liberated and weren't afforded opportunities for them to go to school and get high paying jobs like now. In the fast-paced world we live in,everything has become instantaneous. From how we communicate,what kind of jobs we do,to the food we eat (Thank God for Woolworths ready-made food). We also cannot deny the effects of the global village and how technology has made everything so accessible. The woman can now work from home and she can juggle the many hats she wears quite effortlessly,because "strength and dignity are (still) her clothing".

 

 Another critical point to consider is that the modern Proverbs 31 woman comes with a dream team made up of aunty,who basically helps with all these other chores like doing the laundry,a tutor to help the kids with homework and the mother in-law who babysits the kids on weekends. (Ideally). The famous quote "behind every successful man,there's a powerful woman" is still relevant today. The modern day woman still caters to the husband who's "known in the gates when he sits among the elders of the land". This woman handles the home front pretty well.

 

A friend of mine was quite taken aback by her boyfriend,who exclaimed that he doesn't expect her to be doing all the chores in the house,except cooking,as he works hard so that she can be comfortable. Her distress was that,suddenly all that epitomized what womanhood is about,is rendered obsolete.
We need to take all of this into consideration in order to help us see that the Proverbs 31 woman still exists,only that she's modernized. I hope the chief lobbyists are open-minded enough to see where my view is taken from.

LOVE PUTS FOOD ON THE TABLE...7 COLOURS ON A SUNDAY

“Love doesn't put food on the table"

This is a very popular phrase among people, who want to belittle what the concept of love is really about. Please allow my gullible self to interpret my understanding of this phrase.

The love I know is one that wants the best for another; it always seeks to make the next thrive at the expense of its own. Was it not love that woke up our parents at dawn to go work an 8-5 so that we can be afforded the privileges of being backpackers? Was it not love that propelled them to save money for us to get the best education they could only dream of? The Love I know is generous. It seeks to see others get what they need...

Maybe I'm too gullible to think that Love is what we need to get up and put food on the table. The love to pursue what keeps us awake at night and catches us in the light of day. The Love that sends a message using care-smile code and we respond with fulfilment. I know Love that woke up at 4am to go work at varsity as a cleaner, come back at 6pm using 93 to help me with home-work. I know love that sacrificed its own dreams so that I can pursue mine. The Love I know put food on the table...7 colours on a Sunday...

The love I know cannot stand the unsatisfactory look in the eyes of those it chooses to be upon. It says this with confidence "I love you and I will do my best to give you what you need". The love I know gets a second job to pay for lobola and marry its high-school sweetheart. It takes a loan to take its siblings to varsity. It puts its house as surety to fund the business it so believes will succeed. That's the love I know. The one that will do anything to make sure that there's food on the table...7 colours on a Sunday...

Before you say Love doesn't put food on the table, think about who you are, what you've achieved and the sacrifices that were made, and tell me if Love was not the driving force that made all of that possible. If not, excuse my gullibility!

WHAT THE STREETS HAVE TO SAY

Having born, bred and still raised in the Soweto streets, my mind has a recollection of the stories that its rusty, coloured walls have to say about it. In my 23 years of living, I can pretty sample up the occurrences that are typical of a Soweto home. Four generations can be easily found inside one home; from the grandmother to her great-grandchild. The first and last born siblings, with 8 others in between, living comfortably in the same house. The typical Soweto home: dining room by day and bedroom of 3 by night. The downside of it though, is that you have to be the first to wake up before makhelwane comes and asks for di-teabag. The forever wasted uncle, who knows English more than anyone else in the house. Who can forget the famous painting of the woman and her child, who at some point, everyone thought it’s their aunt and cousin until you see it in four other houses.

 Rainy days are the best; they Create a beautiful genre of music from a combination of sounds from your asbestos and Mkhukhu wa ko next door.

Street names are simultaneous with the popularity of bozza ya kasi eo, the ultimate story-teller, who basically knows the happenings of the street at any given time. Major birthdays, like sweet 16 and 21st are celebrated with a big tent and the hottest dj line-up. The party ke 6 to 6,and trust that the dj will close his set ka 'Goodbye' at exactly 6am,provided bo maberethe don't make their unanticipated visit at 2am. And shem, never think the neighbors will complain about the party because a family member must have had petitioned house to house about the upcoming event. Children of the same age group automatically become a clique that has its own fluit and slang. The ones from boarding school are treated as outsiders for the first few days of their June holidays, but their greatest advantage is the diversity they have, so they win in both the home front and the street front. We will all know uguthi u jola no bani,via the game and everyone best know your boyfriend is a no-go area before o shapiwa ka stena. The unspoken rule is that no girl must be seen standing with a guy because every parent has the right to question (read embarrass) when they see you. Then there's always going to be that guy who gets fought over, but will still date both of you girls, because he's a prick like that.

Soweto homes birth 'feminists’, who will stand up against that guy and will make sure the others know hore ke stop-nonsense. Speaking of stop-nonsense, it’s the name of the famous gate where Soweto kids write 'graffiti' of the word 'sex' so as to prove rebellion. The streets are marked with circles, for a game of diketo and scotch. A game of Ludo on the floor is a sign that the street is dominated by boys. A bonus of the street is a house that has sefate sa diperekisi, because bosigo we plan alliances to go raid the tree. Pray that you don't get busted because yours is a belt lashing until you reveal who else is part of the gang. Every kasi has its own gang. Who would forget the famous gangs like the CCB - Crazy criminal boys. Apparently, as a girl, you would never roam the street after 6pm,alone; otherwise, you’ll find yourself inside 325is ya tjaro.

 

 

 

Then comes Friday night: Spikos night. The only day you don't get to cook and there are less dishes mo skotlolong. The entertainment to close off the week is bo tjaro spinning their BMWs ko corneng and you'll be reminded with a reeking smell of burned tires and di fluit of those with a fascination of adrenaline. All this remains a pandemonium for the old people. Saturday morning, we sweep the yard. You must know that it’s an anomaly to wake up after 6am as you're deemed lazy and every mother will come and codessa at your house. After that,ke stoep. Prize goes to the adept one on the basis of how shiny the stoep is. Then we enjoy the rest of the morning with the famous kasi breakfast,magwinya le snoekfish. Fun times.



The walls of Soweto are great storytellers. The streets have birthed Kings and Queens who are proud of their upbringing. Soweto homes have the most apocryphal stories, and no one dares to question them because they are that good.

WELCOME!!!!!!

One of the reasons I called this blog The audacity of a dream is that I finally have the audacity to take my pages and move them to stages. The audacity to allow masses into what is by far my most vulnerable space; my writing. I've written since I was in high school, Grade 9 to be precise. It was a Friday and I decided to pick up a book by the library because there was a competition for readers that was to come by (Let's just say my English teacher had a lot do with this. Thank God he allowed me to take a book of my 'choice'. I was struck by the synopsis from a book by Wilbur Smith. It was a story that had to do with a female lawyer and some strange criminal. The reason the book struck me is that my childhood career was to be a lawyer, you know, those lethal ones.

Anyway, I started the book as soon as I got home and I never put it down. It was a brilliant first book. It’s safe to say that Wilbur Smith has played a huge role into what I have become; an avid reader. Needless to say, I finished that book in that weekend alone (for those of you that have seen the book, you’ll know how big it is). I wrote about the book, in hopes of entering the competition, but I didn't enter because I didn't think my writing was enough. But I have conquered that. I would like you to take a journey with me as I try to make you see life through, my sometimes flawed, vantage point. Make you roll your eyes at my cocky opinions and hopefully, convince you to log on again to read the next piece. I don't promise you rhymes, I’m not a poet,I’m just a thinker who loves writing. I must warn you though; I am quite an emotional writer.

One day, when I'm old, I want to be called a Word-smith. Well, until then...Do enjoy these words I've put together. All love!