Day 154

The book of wisdom.

I went through today’s reading a couple of times. One, when I was walking through it with my daughters.

1:5 says, “Let the wise listen to these proverbs and become even wiser…’ Being wise isn’t a destination. We can always become wiser.

A couple of things challenged me today. In speaking with my girls, I made sure I shared some of my mistakes and where I have acted foolishly, even with recent events. This was to let them know that it is never a destination, and one also becomes wiser from mistakes and experiences. that is why we read in 3:12 that the Lord corrects those he loves.

To put it in perspective for one of my daughters with a great tendency for perfectionism, I told her that when I advise her to study, and she doesn’t listen or pretends to, the result would show it. Yes, a piece of advice or wisdom wasn’t taken, but because God is merciful, she has other chances to learn from her mistake, and the wisdom in that would be to study when she has to. I also used my yo-yo approach to living a healthy lifestyle and some of my relationships, so she understands I am not perfect either.

The simplicity of wisdom is so amazing, but we sometimes complicate things as humans. As one of my daughters said, should we be referring to common senses as “uncommon common sense”?

She recalled an event at her former school, where people laughed at a child who fell (including her). She had told me about it, and I asked her how about you being that different person that is kind and helps the person up. She had responded that, but they all laughed at me when I fell before. I asked how she felt when that happened, and she said she was embarrassed. I said, exactly, you know that feeling, and what you should be doing is not let others feel that way irrespective of what others did. The simple thing (common sense) to do is help someone when they fall. I am glad she recalled that event that happened a couple of years back because it has guided some of how she handles things.

Generally, I had an unclear conscience as I went through (and I expect this as I go through Proverbs), but I pray to grow more.