So let me get this started before I sabotage myself again.
It’s been a pretty hectic week.
Monday I was out to have my teeth checked. Or that was the plan, anyway – I was supposed to visit my dentist before another main event. Turns out, I needed to prioritize the Junior and Senior High kids who were ending the school year over at the academy I was serving under. After a quick, last minute review and reflection, I essentially thought the following would be a proper send off – to them and especially those I wasn’t expecting to see again:
It’s okay for you to fear. Fear is temporary. You come in the name of the Lord. That’s eternal.
Go forth, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes, because you’re going to make them. You’re going to stumble, you’re going to fall. You’re going to get hurt, and you’re going to hurt yourself, too. But the mistakes are temporary. Christ is with you. That’s eternal.
That’s right, Christ. While the rest of the world only has the option of operating based on fear, Christ paid the greatest price for us to be liberated, saved to live out of perfect love. That’s eternal.
I don’t know, it felt like it didn’t sound as good as I was blurting it all out, but I hope they got something out of that. Anyway, after that I finally made my way to the dentist. Turns out the ‘infection’ was more of just soft tissue, and after a quick inspection of an equally quick x-ray of my teeth (and all my fillings), he pointed out that I still had a molar hiding beneath the surface – a little reserve wisdom, if you ask me.
Tuesday I was out early to join the same academy’s board meeting. After reviewing the minutes of the previous meeting we went on to talk about certain changes that needed to be made, pending approval of the board. After this discussion I was left thinking that a minor indication of success as I see it, is how many ‘boards’ you’re on; your vote affects entire businesses and companies. Anyway, as I’m brought to recall all this today, I do remember going home a little after that meeting, to work on other things on the whiteboard.
If I was out early on Tuesday, I dedicated the next day to an Afternoon event – the Academy’s yearly Banquet. I was glad to have had everything I could finish (including getting back to working out after recovering from an awful bout of the flu), finished before lunchtime; I remember there was a last minute Wednesday lunch event I needed to bring my mother to, right before jumping into that Banquet. One thing I will say about the Banquet is that I learned it’s not the visuals or the length of an event that determines its success – it’s the impact you leave on those you ask to attend… and sadly, the ‘impact’ had almost everyone leaving as soon as they got what they wanted. Got me thinking, I hope it’s not the same case with every gathering I play a part in – or I just pray I leave significant impact on every speaking arrangement I’m called to.
Thursday, I was out early again – this time, to pay a visit to a site, with other business partners. I don’t know if I enjoy the present dynamic, which has everyone in the meeting just shooting the moon and running their mouth with stories that are barely productive. Speaking about impact, I hope that every word of command that I am needing to speak (in this case, me imploring for us to get straight to the point and into business), is spoken with grace – leaving favorable impact.
I drove out early for the last time yesterday, Friday – to speak; No, to pray to open a baptism. I was another godfather to another child.
Looking back at all the talking I’ve laid out in reflection since the beginning of this week, here’s what I can piece together, from one perspective:
Speak well, because you never know if or when these people will hear you again.
Speak well, because your words impact people, and organizations.
Speak well by respecting people’s time; There is impact that is only made through speaking well.
Speak well, always remembering there’s a better, more gracious way to say things.
And if you’re having issues with how to speak well in any situation, you speak well by default when you pray. Or, Christian, whenever you pray, you speak well. Praying is speaking well presently. Praying gives you peace for the wrong words you said in the past, and prayer has its role in preparing you for your words in the future. And that was certainly the case last night, when certain sensitive matters needed to be discussed. There was need to pray before conversing with grace.
There was a need for me to write about all this, because through the week I was beginning to feel frustrated. It felt like I was getting other people’s things done instead of my own things. It was easy to cross out the events indicated on the whiteboard, but even up until today, I’ve had to hold off on crossing out some of the more critical items on the board – items that only I could do.
Thankfully, I’m reminded by Ann that it may seem like I spent more time attending meetings, appointments and events, but it wasn’t as if they were wastes of time; No, I was reminded that it was other parts of my being that were being subject to testing, and therefore, growth. In other words, it was leg day for someone who isn’t subtle in showing how he enjoys working out every other muscle in his body. This week was just as necessary, and for that I am grateful.
Indeed, I am grateful for the faithfulness of God on display, even in the uncomfortable. Indeed, there is no guarantee that we would figure out the reason behind everything going on, but this week I was pretty sure I was reminded of the importance of speaking well, and conversing well; What better way to practice, than to speak with strong and diverse personalities throughout the week?
I’m going through a workout regimen that started a little after my birthday, and I was told that our goal was not necessarily to lose weight, but to be consistent in my movements, just so I could progress towards lifting heavier, and safer. I think I needed this week for me to remember – there’s a need to be consistent in how we speak well, as well.
Beautiful lessons.
The proverbs of Solomon.
A wise son makes a glad father,
but a foolish son is a sorrow to his mother.
Proverbs 10:1
Seeing as today is June 10, I thought we’d see what we could gather from the corresponding Proverb of the day… and I really shouldn’t be surprised anymore, because as early as the very first verse, we’re greeted with something very significant. I look at that verse and I think to myself, there’s a reason for us to strive for wisdom – for our fathers to be glad, and to be proud of us. And there’s a reason for us to avoid foolishness – for our mothers to avoid sorrow, as well.
For the first line, I’ll say that the wisdom that we do have in the body of Christ is no mere wisdom that we generate; and it’s apparently far greater than what wisdom we retain from those around us. While wisdom is these things, we shouldn’t stop at thinking that the wisdom to be had is compiled from experience and tenets and lessons – our own, and from those within our influence; No, friends, the wisdom we have as members of the body of Christ is a LIVING Wisdom, personified as a gracious woman; Created just as much as we were created, but the only difference being that she was created ‘at the foundations of the earth’; meaning Wisdom has a far greater understanding of everything within the bounds of time and space, because she has witnessed how God formed it all, with His words.
If you’ve been reading and following along with the chicken scratch I’ve been making (thank you, by the way), you’ll notice that all this I’m mentioning here on wisdom is a ‘review’ of sorts for me, because I wrote about all this a couple of days ago. I mean, it is a fascinating revelation: The fear of the Lord may be the beginning of Wisdom, but it’s the Lord HIMSELF who made (fathered) Wisdom, and therefore, it’s the Lord HIMSELF who is the beginning of Wisdom. There’s no wisdom without God, and we have no hope of being anywhere close to God without Christ.
Consequently, it’s because of Christ that we have God, and God has us (reconciliation), and therefore, because God possesses Wisdom, so we have her, and she has us. We may not have wisdom as a trait… but one way or another, we do have Wisdom as our ally… and that’s always a better deal. That’s eternal.
And with that said, because we always have Wisdom, our fathers shall be glad, more or less.
Now, with regards to our mothers – well, here’s the thing. I just have to share that it was my own mom that discovered just how irresponsible I’ve been with time and money, and how my negligence has impacted me over the course of almost a decade. Sorrowful as she should be she was the one who chose to be gracious – not by letting me off the hook, but by holding me responsible in learning from my mistakes, and to be more hands-on with regards to how I handle resources of all types.
My foolishness was present, yet my own mother was gracious, even when she had the option to draw sorrow. But I’m led back to what I shared to the kids – We WILL make mistakes – from simple ones to those like these in a grand scale, brought upon by consistent negligence… but by God’s grace we’re able to step up as soon as we realize what we did, bounding forward better than before.
While our beings are still part of this reality, we will make foolishness…
But the foolishness is temporary. Christ is with me.
That’s eternal.
We’ve spoken so much in the past, about how we should always stay focused on Christ, and how it’s up to us to continue acknowledging Him. It’s up to us to be intentional in seeing Him in all things.
But I suppose, in my writing all that’s gone on for me this week, I could say that it’s not as if Christ is just waiting for us to focus on Him – no, through all the revelations and the lessons I’ve had fall on my lap this week, I could say that Christ is just as focused on us, concerned about us, and working in our lives, so it all works for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Granted, we may never know what the good is in each and every situation and circumstance, but for some reason, I am very thankful that throughout this week, He’s shown me at least a part of His involvement. And oh, how good He is. Faithful when we are faithless, gracious when we have so much on our plate, loving even in the times when we are so caught up in what the world would have us focus on.
That’s… eternal. See, I didn’t expect this to come out. This just popped up after I started writing.
Now I pray and I declare that we will all have a good and safe weekend ahead – not a weekend that is absolutely according to our expectations and finite demands, but one that is good and safe, as Christ would have it.
Until the next post, God bless you.
JB's Personal Brain Defragmenter 
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