Preservation

Proverbs 2:10 "Discretion shall preserve thee."

In summers of years gone by, when my children were at home, our family planted a garden and we preserved the food by canning or freezing the produce. What satisfaction we had when we could see those  rows of jars on the shelves or open the freezer and observe all the fine choices arrayed there.   In those cold winter months, I received such deep fulfillnent from reaping all the hard work involved, when we sat down to a bountiful table laden with the wonderful food we had preserved!

Had we tilled that garden, planted it, nurtured it, produced a top crop and then plowed it under, we would never have experienced  complete fulfillment. It was the preservation of all the good fruits and vegetables that made us feel so great!

"Discretion" is the quality of having or showing good judgement in speech or behavior so as to avoid offense to others.  This Proverbs selection says " discretion shall preserve thee."  The word "preserve" means to keep safe from contamination.

I tend to be a pretty "black and white" person.  I can easily define what I think is right and wrong.  I would consider myself to be a realist who can get pretty focused and confrontational when I am defending what I think or know to be "truth".  But I have learned that discretion is a quality that I need  very much in balancing out the so called "strengths" of my personality.  There is a need to consider the perception of all those I deal with in life.  When I am not discreet or do not use good judgement in my desire to defend what I think to be "right", I can quickly contaminate a situation or a relationship.

Wheras the Word directs me to "speak the truth", it also warns me that it is " woe to that man by whom an offense cometh".  I also read that I should strive " to be at peace with all men." These directives don't always easily mesh.

It is much easier for me to go ahead and speak the truth quickly and with strong conviction than it is to hold my tongue,  analyse the situation, and then address it with discretion or carefulness.  What I have observed from hard lessons learned,  is that relationships can be contaminated or preserved.  It's my choice.  Why form relationships,  nurture them to a point, then destroy them when I think I have earned the right to speak quickly or act impulsively.

Friendships and marriages are destroyed because of this very thing.  The art of preserving foods is a lengthy and difficult process. So is the art of preserving relationships. 

I don't have a garden these days, but I have daughters who do a beautiful job of lining those shelves. And I often enjoy the fruits of their labor. My life has been so enriched by the bounty of food enjoyed the year around. 

Likewise, I have learned that praying for discreet responses in my interaction with my family and friends reaps rich rewards.  It brings so much protection to  the relationships that I have spent years in fertilizing and nourishing.  I want to artfully use discretion to preserve my connections with those I love.  I have invested far too much time into these things that are  so precious to me to misuse them.

The Merchant's Ship

She is like a merchant's ship; she brings her merchandise from afar." Proverbs 31:14

I was born with a lot of curiosity. I love creativity and individuality. I have lived a few years and I find that each of us have a little or a lot of all the above.  I'd like to think I am uniquely me and that I have something to contribute to this big world.

One of the places I chose to give to is my family.  I married and bore children by choice and made them an  important part of my life.  Early on,  I decided I was going to give it my best! God designed us to be "keepers of the home".  Recognizing it to be a phenomenal job,  I still wanted to do it!  So I have spent over 40 years designing and developing a "home". It's truly been a challenge! 

Travelling has  enriched my life and I consider myself blessed  and positively affected by my exposure to diverse people and cultures. My husband and I spent alot of time on the road with our family and used it as a means of educating our children.

The Proverbs passage I chose today suggests that this wonderful woman desired merchandise that was suitable for her plans for her home. So she travelled to get them. She was compared to a merchant's ship. A merchant's ship comes to port loaded with wonderful things that have been acquired by searching all over the world. The goods have been tested for durability and service.  Some are just simply purchased for their beauty.

I spent a good portion of time as a keeper of my home exploring ideas and keeping an ear open to the input of others, so I could bring excitement, color and creativity to my surroundings.  Many times I was reminded that the  years pass quickly and this opportunity to provide beauty and blessings for my little family would be gone. I kept busy bringing my "merchandise from afar".

Travelling is expensive. It is also exhausting! There were many days I was weary. Some days I was forced by circumstances to take shortcuts. My energy lagged. I even experienced times when I decided I had reached the limits of going and giving. 

But when I came into port from my journeys from "afar",  unpacked my wonderful purchases, and integrated them into my home, I was thrilled! The excitement that my findings ignited in my home and the contented faces of my household made it all worthwhile.  My hard work provided security for my family.

Every few years would transition into a new phase of living. It was necessary to find appropriate things for that window of time. As I observed all of this through the years, I would be inspired again and again to start making plans for new discoveries on uncharted seas!

So, from one who's" been there",  I encourage you homemakers to travel. Be a merchant's ship. Search out those things that will bring fulfillment to your home. As a keeper of the home,  be responsible for how to feed your family nutritiously and with thrift, yet create a tempting, delicious, and inviting table.   Provide fun entertainment that's clean and educational. Learn to clothe your family attractively and modestly; it is a challenge that will engage a good imagination. Make work ethic desirable; find a positive approach that pulls them in, despite the undesirable nature of the task.  Use the creativity of all the members of your household to display beauty around your home. You are the primary means of inspiration and education for your children. It will cost you and it will exhaust you, but I challenge you to make your home a gracious, structured, and safe place.  You are building lives and making memories.

Sometimes after my searching, my ship was full. Sometimes my goods were sparse. I used what I had, sometimes stretching my capabilities to their limits. Then, when my resources begin to reach exhaustion, I put my sailing hat on and grabbed my spyglass. It was time to sail again.

I'm still searching  for valuable things to challenge and pass on to my children and grandchildren. It's a part of my life I don't think I ever want to relinquish! I find it very rewarding!

The Virtuous Woman

Proverbs 31:10a "Who can find a virtuous woman?"

I know this word "virtuous" has something to do with strength and I know the word in Bible text mostly refers to women. I love the word;  it sounds rich in character.  I much prefer being tagged as "virtuous" than the "weaker vessel"(which is, by the way, also a Biblical reference to women).

So, I've set out to find how I can be both strong and weak! What's funny is: there are days I feel really empowered.  I'm sure I could move mountains, yet when I set out to do so, I quickly realize I'm limited in doing so many things because I am a woman!  It even annoys me at times!  And then you know what is really  embarrassing is when I attempt to show how strong I am, and I fall flat,  showing my weakness that I was trying to prove I didn't have!

So I'm trying to find the secret of this virtuous woman. I've been following her for years and I really have learned a lot yet when I open it up again, there that word jumps out at me and I find some new truth I hadn't discovered before. 

Two words stand out to me today. Though the word "strong" always connects with "virtuous" so do the words "capable" and "efficient". Ironically, the word "virtuous" in Hebrew is used to describe an Army.  Now,  if there's one time I'd like to be described as weak, it's there. I would never want to do military duty! I am the weaker vessel through and through!

However,  I really want to be capable and efficient!  I love being tagged with that! I'm pretty sure I'm capable of handling alot and keep organized in doing it! I'm thinking that those are surely virtuous traits. And I feel good on those days when that is accomplished!. It is so rewarding!

Then there are those days when I wake up and I'm pretty sure I'm the "weaker vessel". And I question how can I have been so strong yesterday and be here today? Those are the days when I am reminded that "strength is made perfect in weakness".  I can only be made strong by being weak. It's when I am weak that God really is able to teach and train me, because that's when I am quiet and ready to learn.

Lord, help me not to be empowered by my capabilities and help me not to use my weakness as an excuse to be lazy.  Round me out with the right portions of both to keep me virtuous. I realize those kind of women are hard to find. I want to be easily recognizable as a woman of God.

Life 101

Proverbs 1:23 "Turn at my reproof, behold I will pour out my spirit unto you."

I've been in the class Life 101 for a long time.  I love the Teacher....so I keep staying in His classroom! I also haven't taken the Final yet. I'm not sure when I'll be taking that.  I'm waiting for my Teacher to tell me I'm ready.

I think I'm pretty attentive to study habits. And I have a Tutor. The Holy Spirit is always on call when I need Him. He's great and always helps me to better prepare for the quizzes and tests.

I especially don't like pop quizzes and my Teacher loves to give them!  Of all my testing, I do my worst on these! Last week, one really took me by surprise! When the Teacher placed it back in my hands, I was stunned. It was pretty marked up with red. The tears came.  I really wanted to argue with Him. Am I not a good student? Am I not in class every time? Don't I carry  that Textbook around and quote from it? After all, I've turned in some excellent papers and gotten good grades!

When I looked up at Him, my Teacher gave me a look of reproof and asked me to meet with Him after class.  I was embarrassed, but He was so understanding and gentle with me. He has been my teacher for so long; He knows my heart. He sat me down and gave me some really good pointers;  making me understand some things I was unaware of!

Because I appreciate that Teacher so much and He has been patiently teaching me for so long, I recognized where I had failed to study in some of the more difficult chapters.

Believe me , I studied harder this week. Though it is necessary, reproof disturbs me! If it's necessary to my education (and I read in my Textbook that it is) I surely want to learn quickly from it!

Guess what? I had another one today. I got a good grade...but you know what?  I think I better not take that for granted.  I have the feeling those Pop Quizzes will keep coming!

The Fear of the Lord

I love Proverbs. It's my favorite book of the Bible.  Maybe its because I feel so void of wisdom and these writings contain ancient wisdom directly requested by Solomon from God.  These nuggets reach out to me as I choose my pathway each day.  I find my path taking strange twists and turns and often I find myself scared and feeling alone. 

Today I read Proverbs 1:7 which says: "The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge."   I realize my definition of fear isn't this kind of wisdom. Fear seems like a negative word. I am afraid of being afraid!  I need to understand "the fear of the Lord". It is the beginning of all I hope to learn about wisdom.

My desire and goal is that God and I be a team. We stick together all day; all the time.  My greatest fear is being alone in darkness and losing my way. I realize I am easily drawn aside into dark rooms or pulled into unlit paths. I really fear being forsaken or deserted. 

So how do I become comfortable with embracing "godly fear"?  As I approach Him with this question, I realize it is as simple as this: don't go anywhere without Him!

There are so many paths and doors in my life. So many rooms. I have to visit or follow all of them at one time or another.  Sometimes I drop God off somewhere along the way and begin a journey alone. 

One of those paths is when I visit my emotions and try to deal with them alone.  What a journey! I sometimes travel for hours or days before I realize I am alone and either God dropped off back there somewhere or I outran Him! Then I have to think of all the time I lost in what could have been sweet communion with my traveling companion and beautiful scenery along the way!

So I am reminded again (as I have been reminded before) that I don't wander off on paths without my Protector! I am learning to fear walking anywhere without Him!