“Dear child, if you become wise, I’ll be one happy parent. My heart will dance and sing to the tuneful truth you’ll speak.” Proverbs 23:15-16
A couple of months ago I experienced a pretty proud parenting moment when my son strapped on a pair of skates and took to the ice. Up till this point, skating had been a tearful no-go and I was convinced skating as a fam would never be our thing.
Imagine my surprise when he asked to register for hockey… and… imagine my emotion as I watched him be keenly aware that he was the only kid unable to stand on skates. No parent wants to watch their kid struggle, and let me tell you, I fought back such ugly tears I thought my eyelids would explode.
On the way home I asked him one very delicate question: “How was your first day of hockey, little buddy?”
I will never forget what he said.
“I know I fell lots, but I kept telling myself to stand back up. That’s all you care about, right mom?”
Um, remember those tears? Suffice to say, I had a full-on heart and eyelid explosion.
This too is exactly how I imagine God feels about us when we choose process over performance, journey over destination and wisdom over popularity.
We will fall, no doubt about it, but wisdom instructs us to stand back up because that’s what He cares about.
He knows it’s through rising in Him we find a tuneful truth to speak.
