Proverbs 1:6
...for understanding proverbs and parables, the sayings and
riddles of the wise."
Today would have been my mom's 85th birthday. I can hardly imagine what she would have been
like since she left us at age 61. She
would have understood my desire for crazy colored hair since she advised me as
a youth, "If you've got it, flaunt it."
My mom left me with lots of artifacts that I treasure, too
many as the recent move reminded me. Today I realize the real treasures are her
bits of wisdom to survive life. I think
of them as "Lizzisms". I apparently
use her nuggets of advice often. Just
the other day, a dining companion asked me for
some advice. As I started with one of my favorite Lizzisms, my companion
got excited. She wished she'd met the
wise Lizzie she'd heard so often quoted.
My mom's advice shaped my ability to cope with life, after
the scriptures, of course. Somehow she'd
developed a perspective that helped a teenage drama queen survive into well
seasoned adulthood.
When Life gives me
lemons (or those circumstances so not of my choosing), I recall her asking the very young Me, "In the
span of eternity, how important will...?"
Gosh when you honestly put most daily challenges against eternity, they
seem a bit more manageable.
During one of her bigger challenges, cancer, she gave me
similar nugget of wisdom. Many people
would ask "Why me?" in the same situation. Lizzie chose the "Why not me" approach.
Mom showed me not to get too involved in
my self-importance and to think that bad things shouldn't, wouldn't or
couldn't happen to me.
Lizzisms distill the swirl of emotions and reactions to Life
events and help me navigate. Proverbs
1:6 reminds me that no matter how old and wise I think I am, Life will continue
to challenge. It's a good idea to increase my wisdom, to lean not my own
understanding, but to use other wise predecessors, like the scriptures and occasionally Lizzie.
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| Happy Birthday Mom! |
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