Wisdom

Experiences-One day, as I was using my computer, the word "wisdom" popped
into my head. My first thought was that I am not writing about wisdom. I had
written about discernment not long before that and I felt that I would just
say the same or very similar things. Still, I decided that I should at least
look up the dictionary meaning of "wisdom". So I did. I saw that wisdom has
a component of experience to it. I have had some experiences-really, bad,
really good, really blah-so that just seemed the thing to write about.

The first really bad experience I had was having a stroke at the ripe old
age of 33. One nugget of wisdom would be not to take your health for
granted. You just never know. I don't remember anything at first as I was in
a coma for over a month. I am speculating, though, that it wasn't a fun time
for anybody close to me. I came out of the coma only to discover that I
could no longer talk or move. That was quite a shock! However, the doctor
assured me that I would learn to walk and talk again so I was determined to
work hard to accomplish that feat. I just want to mention an incident that
happened while I was still in hospital in Edmonton. A couple of born-again
cousins of my husband came to visit me. I had never met them and I still
remember how impressed I was that they would take time to come and see
someone they didn't even know. Another nugget: we never know the impact that
our small acts of kindness will have on others.

But, none of us anticipated the complications that left me in my present
condition. I don't think anybody knows what happened. I sure don't! I had to
face the fact that I was never going to get any better. That was a dark,
dark time for me. So dark that I seem to have pretty much blocked it out of
my memory. One of the few things I do remember is two ladies coming quite
often to sing gospel songs to me. I suppose one nugget to garner from this
is that God can bring a little light into even the most hopeless of
situations.

But then came the very best experience of my life. Salvation, glorious
salvation! I will never forget the feeling of having a load being lifted off
my shoulders. One minute I was in a dark valley and the next I was on the
mountain of hope. Nobody had to explain to me about divine healing. I just
knew that I knew that I knew my healing was on its way. After the darkness
that I had been in, words cannot describe the euphoria that I felt. My
salvation took place in a hospital room. With just one other person. But
then that person was obedient when God told him to come and talk to me.
Nugget of wisdom: OBEY GOD PROMPTLY. You don't know whose destiny depends on
your obedience.

However, that was many years ago. Since then, I have only had maybe three
truly remarkable experiences. The first was shortly after I first started
going to church. I was given a brief glimpse into Heaven itself. Including
being told by Jesus that I had to come back. I have never talked much about
it. Too precious a memory, I guess. As I was still a fairly new Christian at
the time, I am sure it was given to me to reinforce the reality.of God. A
few years later, I saw a white light around the pastor. Must have been the
anointing that God has put on him. Then, a few years ago, I saw like a
plumbline between heaven and earth. I was about halfway up. I was given the
choice to continue on or to come back. I chose to come back.

Aside from these, I haven't had any remarkable experiences since my
incredible salvation. But I haven't had any really bad experiences either.
Just a lot of mundane keeping on keeping on. Of course, my emotions go up
and down like a yo-yo but they are just emotions. Over the years I have
gleaned some nuggets of wisdom. I don't have time for them all but here are
a few:
1. To live one day at a time. For me, sometimes it is a few hours at a time.
If I look too far ahead, I only end up depressed because I start thinking of
all the years of suffering that might still be ahead of me.
2. Tomorrow is another day. When I have a bad day, I have plenty of those,
and everything seems hopeless, I have learned that, chances are, tomorrow
will be a much better day.
3. The importance of saying " I am sorry". I have learned that, if I
apologize first, the other person probably will as well. Whether I feel I am
right or not is usually not the issue. Maintaining good relationships is
usually more important than being right.
4. If someone tells me something, the importance of keeping it to myself. I
figure that, if they want other people to know, they will tell them.
5. The importance of seeing situations from the perspective of others. This
is a tough one for me because I live in an environment that is so different
from the norm.

As I was writing this, I began to see that any wisdom that I may have has,
at least in part, been shaped by the experiences that I have gone through.