How NOT to Be a Mrs. Norris

When my thoughts go to the biblical idea of a woman after God's own heart, somehow I never think of Mrs. Norris. In fact, it is only when I think of the exact opposite type of woman, do my thoughts finally wander to poor Mrs. Norris. You fellow Jane Austen fans out there know what I'm talking about. In Mansfield Park, Mrs. Norris is the cantankerous, meddlesome, busybody aunt of heroin Fanny Price. Throughout this novel, Mrs. Norris shows the many qualities that quickly slide her into the dear places in my heart as 1) my least favourite character in the story, and 2) the woman I most certainly do not want to be. Here are just a few of her character flaws.

She's selfish, vain, a gossip, a slanderer, worldly, malicious, a liar, concerned only about the temporal, living to please people, and that's only to name a few!

Of course, Mrs. Norris can't be wholly evil. She does love people in her own way ... but often that love is only because she can gain something or be rewarded. No, as a young woman who seeks to glorify the Lord, I do NOT want to be a Mrs. Norris.

So who do I want to be? Well, I'm sure I could give you a list of a godly women who have modeled a great love and desire for the Lord and who have many godly traits that I seek to emulate, but when it comes down to finding a woman after God's own heart, I think the best place to go is the Word of God itself. These traits and Scripture passages illuminate the woman I want to be:

• Generous. "She opens her hand to the poor and reaches out her hands to the needy." (Proverbs 31:20)
• Self-controlled. "A man without self-control is like a city broken into and left without walls." (Proverbs 25:28)
• Pure. "So that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ." (Philippians 1:10)
• Not lazy. "She looks well to the ways of her household and does not eat the bread of idleness." (Proverbs 31:27)
• Gentle. "But let your adorning be the hidden person of the heart with the imperishable beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which in God's sight is very precious." (1 Peter 3:4)
• Strong and confident in the Lord. "Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come." (Proverbs 31:25)
• Always seeking and desiring God. "O God, you are my God; earnestly I seek you; my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water." (Psalm 63:1)
• Kind. "Older women likewise are to ... teach what is good, and so train the young women to ... be ... kind." (Titus 2:3-5)
• Speaking with wisdom. "She opens her mouth with wisdom, and the teaching of kindness is on her tongue." (Proverbs 31:26)
• Trusting in the Lord. "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding." (Proverbs 3:5)
• Fearing the Lord. "Charm is deceitful, and beauty is vain, but a woman who fears the LORD is to be praised." (Proverbs 31:20)

And if we can be all those things, we will be a woman after God's own heart ... and NOT a Mrs. Norris!