A HEART OF WISDOM By Lakan Mariano Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom... Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Psalm 90:12, 14 Bitterness and regret freely flowed with his tears. My friend had struggled with multiple physical problems that landed him in the hospital. It is hard to imagine when we are in our youth that our bodies will one day succumb to time. My friend started working when he was barely twelve years old. He worked hard all his life to provide for his family. By the time I met him he was already in his late sixties, yet his strength and vitality belied his age. I never imagined him being incapacitated. I suspected he thought the same. My wife always wanted us to take some time off. To go on vacation. Just the two of us. To travel some. See places... His voice trailing off as he choked back tears. I never thought we had the time nor the money. I was speechless. All I could do was hold my friends hand in sympathy. But even then, I thought about what God said in His Word, Each heart knows its own bitterness (Proverbs 14:10). I could sympathize. But I knew I could not plumb the depth of his despair. Too often we gain wisdom from our own mistakes. And too often we learn it late. As I stood there in that hospital room, gratitude filled my heart for men who shared their wisdom with me. I thought about the time when my American brother Wayne Bruce asked me where I was taking Kim for vacation. Kim and I had been married just a little over a year and Micah was just a couple of months old. No where. We cant afford to go on vacation, I responded. Wayne looked at me and with loving firmness he said, You cant afford not to take Kim on vacation. To this day I can still hear his voice. And I am thankful for that advice. Waynes dad, Wallace, taught me how to love my wife and pray for our children. He showed me how to express affection. I still remember Ken Sheppard telling me before we moved to San Angelo as we sat at Nu-Way Cafe in Borger drinking coffee to guard at least a day and night of the week for my family alone. Two nights, if I can manage it. The scene is very vivid in my mind: Joe Temple sitting in his chair with the life-size portrait of his wife behind him in his house on Buffalo Gap Road in Abilene, Texas, telling me life lessons about raising his children. T.C. Melton, then pastor of Elmcrest Baptist Church in Abilene, leaning back in his chair as he addressed us young ministers at the time, Boys, you need to unpack your bags. People know whether your bags are unpacked or not. With all the godly men God gave me over the years there are still lessons I had to learn the hard way. We all do. That is why we trust God for His grace and His love. Moses knew this. Moses knew he was about to die. Looking back he saw the brevity of life. LORD, you sweep people away in the sleep of death—they are like the new grass of the morning: In the morning it springs up new, but by evening it is dry and withered (Psalm 90:5-6). He understood that life was not defined by the number of years but by ones relationship with God. Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives. Instead of regrets, we can sing for joy to the end of our brief lives if we are satisfied by Gods love. Teach us to realize the brevity of life, so that we may grow in wisdom... Satisfy us each morning with your unfailing love, so we may sing for joy to the end of our lives.
Posted on: Tue, 19 Aug 2014 11:31:21 +0000