Where do I find Wisdom?
If you want to walk the Pathway of Wisdom, you do not need to go very far!
The ancient Hebrew image of Wisdom is as a woman who walks toward us. She invites us to be in conversations. She longs to share with us her skills for everyday living. Wisdom has seen the patterns of living and wants you to know success. She wants you to feel God’s steadfast love surrounding you.
Wisdom can see the possible consequences of the decisions that you will make today! And oh, how she wants to protect you with God’s mercy and fill you up with visions of God’s faithfulness to you.
The book of Proverbs is a collection of short sentences drawn from long experiences of life and written in poetic form. Don’t dismiss them out of hand just because you think don’t like poetry! Poetic form in history involved lots of images, emotions, and a stacking of ideas. It’s a great antidote to thinking of the best options ahead of us as something only a computer could calculate.
Instead, the Bible’s Wisdom Literature paints the image of Wisdom as being present with God from before creation. Lady Wisdom shows you how to live each day and how to get maximum value from your experiences. She waits for you at the crossroads of your decisions along with a community for conversation and discernment. She walks toward you to bring you the prudence that comes from deliberate examination of the patterns revealed in History, in Nature, and in Scripture.
A long line-up on the street
Each day there is a long line-up that develops on the streets. Car after car, with person after person, makes the trek to pick up their morning boost at Tim Horton’s or at Starbucks. Credit card in hand, they exchange small conversations that order coffee or tea and breakfast, and then they move out into their days.
Each day Wisdom is also there on the street corner offering clarity to you. She extends the gift of conversation to you. She invites you, again and again, to take her wisdom, even better than coffee, for enlightening your mind and enlivening your spirit.
How do you respond?
I want to say yes to Wisdom. How do I walk the Pathway of Wisdom?
When you hear Wisdom’s call and you want to say yes, what can you do?
Gratitude:
Start with “Thank you, God.” When you notice a desire for skill for living, that’s the Life-Giving Spirit speaking to you and initiating in your life. If you want Wisdom, you are already hearing the beginnings of Wisdom. Foolishness doesn’t even notice that there is a question to ask or that there might be consequences to consider. Begin with, “Thank you, God,” “Thank you, Jesus,” “Thank you, Spirit,” or “Thank you, Wisdom,” and you will discover you are already on the Pathway of Wisdom.
Conversations:
Secondly, reach out to talk to another human to share dialogue. Listen as the Life-giving Spirit brings the name of a person, a song, or a hymn to mind. Text. Phone. Video conference. Speak out what you are noticing to a trusted companion.
Options:
As you join in the conversation in twos and threes, you will hear the wise next steps. In this way you feel God’s love surrounding you. You notice God’s mercy protecting you. You are given the energy to drink God’s faithfulness. God’s faithfulness is new every morning and fresher than coffee from your favourite coffee shop.
Prayer:
Return to your conversation with God. There are so many prayer practices that you can enter into as you sift through the pieces of dialogue. Work with a Listening Practice. Try a writing practice. Use a Prayer Labyrinth. Pray using a Prayer Mandala practice. Go for a walk in nature. What do you notice? Is there something that you thought was important but you find that it just drifts away? What becomes stronger in your attention?
Debrief:
Cycle back again to conversation with a trusted human. Pay careful attention to what you want to hide and choose to bring that out into the dialogue. Search together for an affirmation of Wisdom’s next steps. And then walk them out.
Repeat:
There will be challenges, but if you keep on working through the process of [Gratitude, Conversation, Options, Prayer, Debrief, Repeat] you will discover Wisdom’s Pathway for you.
Walking along Wisdom’s Pathway is filled with attentive listening. Wisdom gives you the clarity and the energy that you need. Wisdom is the zing and the zip you want for everyday living in the Season after Pentecost.
What if I haven’t got any zip or zest? I just feel overwhelmed.
When you are missing zip and zest, the best antidote is conversation with a skilled guide and with a community of companions on the journey.
Sometimes the process of regaining energy takes time, but you don’t have to walk the Pathway of Wisdom alone. The Life-giving Spirit wants to walk with you each day. She wants you to have Wisdom and practical skills for everyday living.
Are you interested in more information about Spiritual Direction?
Have you found your Spiritual Director, yet? Have you found your people?
If not, send us a note and let’s test out whether the services that we offer might be a good fit for you. Personal Spiritual Direction is an option, as is Spiritual Direction Supervision. We help individuals and organizations incorporate Spiritual Direction and Spiritual Care into their lives and work with bite-sized practices for everyday faith experiences.
In addition, Living Faith at Home is also connected with a Spiritual Formation Community called Tapestry Ministries. If you are searching for a Faith Community, it might be a good fit for you. We meet online regularly for conversation, and we host online retreats for Advent and Lent.
This short article on Spiritual Direction might be helpful if you have questions about what Spiritual Direction is and how it works.
As always, it is our prayer that you will experience blessing in your everyday life. May your living faith give you the skill and the relationships you need to walk the Pathway of Wisdom today.
Grace and peace to you,
Jennifer
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