With my oldest daughter just graduating from college, memories of my college graduation flooded my mind. I don't remember much about the actual event. What I remember most is that my grandmother's house burnt down that day. My family all left me to rush to the scene just an hour away. I was left to pack my final belongings, including my fish tanks, all by myself. Her's was an old boarding house with a coal oil floor furnace. My grandmother was recouping from an injury at my aunt's several hours away and wasn't even home. The old coal furnace exploded igniting the house.
There were a lot of memories in that old two story place. The floors were uneven. Bathrooms had been added. And it had a flat roof. As kids we used to stand on that grate of that old coal furnace and the soles of our shoes would be branded like a waffle. But oh the living that went on in that place. It was place where stories were exchanged and embellished, meals shared around a big dining room table, songs sung, family gatherings held, people welcomed. That old boarding house was a huge part of my heritage and growing up memories.
I suppose it was a place where I learned a lot about life and relationships and family and faith. I learned about giving to others, laughter, love, responsibility, creativity and healthy family relationships. Anyone was welcome to drop in, pull up a chair and join us at the table. It was a unique place, a safe place, an accepting place.
After my grandmother passed several years later, I inherited her latest Bible. She had opted to give up her King James Version for a New International Version which she read every day. Throughout the pages she begin to highlight and under portions that spoke to her. One of those passages comes from Ecclesiastes 7, especially keying in on verses 1 and 12. It's a section on wisdom as is much of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. But Ecclesiastes gives a great deal of focus to the vain things of life and really zeroes in on things that really matter.
In this passage Solomon writes about how a good name is better than perfume. We have to remember that he writes this long before deodorant soap and Axe was invented. It's also before washers and dryers and of course air conditioning. People walked everywhere or rode beasts of burden. I'm guessing perfume was a REAL necessity. The implication is that a good reputation, good character was a whole lot more pleasantly aromatic to others than those with a poor reputation. In other words people with a bad reputation stink and are repulsive.
Solomon talks about the day of death being better than the day of birth. He couples that thought with the folly of living a party filled, meaningless life. He counsels us to focus our life on the things that really matter and the destiny of our life. It's a reminder that life is really short and what we do with our life makes a difference in eternity.
I watch students and adults all the time who give no thought or consideration to the opportunity, the gift of life. There are many who just fritter away their life and opportunities. They don't see or simply just fail to take advantage of the gifts God places before them for a full and meaningful life. There is a laissez-faire, ambitionless attitude toward life persisting among many that pursues only temporary pleasure without thought to consequences or long term implications to their life. One episode of Judge Judy will quickly demonstrate the mentality of our society today.
By the time Solomon hits verse twelve, he proclaims that wisdom is a shelter because it preserves the life of the possessor. Those who have a clue have a much better chance of making something positive out of life than wrecking their life and falling into pits from which some never escape.
I'm grateful for the times in that old boarding house for more than my shoes were imprinted as a I stood next the dining room table. I gained tons of wisdom and perspective from the lives of older, wiser family members and friends. My life was shaped in part by those gatherings. I learned how to really live and the significance of each life. It's why my grandmother's Bible is so precious to me. Because the basis of what I absorbed, of what was lived out before me was God's Word.
God, I don't want to waste or squander away my life. I want to see your big picture for me. I want to enjoy every minute of the life you've given to me. I want to learn from the good and difficult moments. I want to laugh more robustly, live more fully, celebrate more vigorously, enjoy the people in my life more deeply. I want your wisdom. I want the life to full that you promised in Christ.
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