Walking in wisdon

He who trusts in his own mind is a fool; but he who walks in wisdom will be delivered.
Proverbs 28:26

Time and experience have taught me that I am horrible at keeping tack of details unless I make a concerted effort to do so. Though the years I have come to understand it has a lot to do with the way my brain is wired. (That’s an explanation – not an excuse.)

For example, I can tell you I have read a paper on health care, what issues it covers, where it was from and what the picture on the front page looked like. But, chances are, if I filed the paper away I will not be able to tell you where I put it. I don’t call it filing. I call it playing hide and seek with myself. The solution is to hire a really good administrative assistant and bribe them with whatever it takes to keep them happy. They may not know what the content of the paper was or why you want it back, but they can always retrieve it for you.

When I went to work in the Capitol after 14 years as a stay at home mom, time management became a big issue for me. Juggling parenting, service as a school board member, working a legislative session and being a wife proved to be a formidable task.

I had to train both myself and my three children that my brain was not a sticky note and if they expected me to take action on an issue or be at a particular place at a specific time, they needed to make sure the issue was entered into my Day-timer. I explained to them that they might go to school for 12 years and have a graduation coming up, but if the date of the ceremony was not on my Day-timer there was no promise of my attendance. In fact, my children were the only ones given the authority to write a date in ink on my calendar.

Now, I also walked as wisdom as a parent. Those appointments that required my attendance that my children may not have had an incentive to place on the calendar – meetings with teachers, PTA meetings, doctors’ appointments – were entered by me.

My Day-timer, since augmented by a computer and Blackberry, catches all my appointments, notes on phone conversations, lists of things to do and any other pertinent information I may need to retrieve at some time in the future. My adult children (or husband) may still call my administrative assistant to make sure she puts an event of importance on my calendar. Or, they may send me a reminder on my Blackberry. Time and experience have expanded that proverb so that they understand the truth of “He who trusts in mom’s memory is a fool.”

The take away message for today is that it is folly to limit yourself to what your mind can handle. Walking in wisdom includes things as simple as finding and using the tools that enable you to amplify your effectiveness and as complex as trusting the Lord for the next answer you may be asked to give.

Just as learning to trust a Day-timer system to get you where you are supposed to be at the right time must become a habit, walking in wisdom must become habitual. Study Proverbs, spend time in prayer, and apply what you learn. Then, make it a habit to do it all again daily.
Eventually, you look around and find out that somewhere along the way began walking in wisdom.

Lord, thank you that your wisdom is available for those who seek it.