Discernment

"My child, never drift off course from
these two goals for your life:
to walk in wisdom and discover
discernment.
Don't ever forget how they empower
you.

 One of my sisters just loves jewelry.  The other sibling really adores "Dead Presidents" of the $20, $50, and $100 variety.  In contrast, I simply revere knowledge and seek wisdom.  Neither of us is wrong, necessarily; yet, each of us may innocently have missed the mark.  We embraced materialism as a visible measurable barometer of success.  Maybe my sisters may not have understood the presumptions of their choices as they derided mine.  Alright, but each choice carried consequences.

For years, I have marked the passing of each day by reading a chapter from the Book of Proverbs.  For at least a decade.  Months with only 30 days meant I read all the Proverbs, doubling up on short-day months.  Good discipline.  Keep in mind, this decade-odd practice accounts for a certain sameness and sequencing,  a"taking-for-granted"  behavior.  So, sue me!

I'd assumed my daily readings hadn't become commonplace; yet, in a meaningful way it had.  In another way, not.  After a while (can't tell you how long), the illumination that had begun when  I'd read the second, third, and fourth chapters. especially, of Proverbs began to flicker.  I no longer ruminated on the import and impact of discernment and wisdom.  And maybe my sensitivity to acquiring knowledge waned an indiscernible bit at a time.  Daily readings just rested in their assigned niche (wherever that was). Hmm.  You see, Proverbs had become the equivalent of glamorous jewelry and dead presidents.  

Yes, King Solomon's parables, poetic riddles, and epigrams that were written to unravel the wisdom of the wise seemed to have become a "taken for granted" symbol.  Much like I assume, my sisters' valued treasures might have become.

  

For they strengthen you inside and out

and inspire you to do what's right;

you will be energized and refreshed

by the healing they bring.

They give you living hope and guide

you. 

How easily worth can diminish.  Sadly, I cannot recall when I realized the enormity of the loss. Probably like an indiscernible leak, it happened a bit at a time.  Maybe before I grasped how little I had understood the limitless scope of each Proverb and what it portended for me.  I wonder how tarnished my sister's authentic Squash Blossom has become? Or how worn, wrinkled, and threadbare are the "dead presidents" my other sister relished.

and not one of life's tests will cause

you to stumble.

You will sleep like a baby, safe and

sound.

Your rest will be safe and sweet." Proverbs 3: 21-24, tMaybePb

Thankfully, I still read a Proverb a day, but now with intentionality and a modicum of understanding.