Mom's Survival Tips

Oh how I love your law! It is my meditation all the day. Your commandment makes me wiser than my enemies, for it is ever with me. I have more understanding than all my teachers, for your testimonies are my meditation. I understand more than the aged, for I keep your precepts. I hold back my feet from every evil way, in order to keep your word. I do not turn aside from your rules, for you have taught me. How sweet are your words to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth! Through your precepts I get understanding; therefore I hate every false way. (Psalm 119:97-104 ESV). Some one has said, “Wisdom is the quality that keeps you from getting into situations where you need it.” Charlotte Johnstone in Family Circle wrote the following “tips”. While they are certainly humorous, they also bring to mind the importance of understanding and following the wisdom of God found in the Scripture. To my kids who have left home and are on their own, I pass on a list of life lessons: 1. Don’t sweat your every mistake or faux pas. They make up for the things you got away with that nobody knows about. 2. Avoid marrying anyone who deliberately flushes the toilet when you’re taking a shower. 3. When someone tells you that what he’s about to say is “for your own good,” expect the worst. 4. The value of a dog is its constant reminder of how much fun it is to be idiotic. 5. If you are lavishly praised, enjoy the taste but don’t swallow it whole. 6. When a politician says, “Let me make something perfectly clear,” remember that he usually won’t. 7. Your children may leave home, but their stuff will be in your attic and basement forever. 8. If someone says, “I know what I mean, but I just can’t put it into words,” he doesn’t know what he means. 9. Two people cannot operate a TV remote control in the same room at the same time. 10. Don’t waste time trying to be your own best friend. You can’t pat yourself on the back, and it’s unsatisfying to cry on your own shoulder. Find a real friend instead. There is nothing we need that has been hidden from us. The psalmist acknowledges the importance of knowing and following the direction of God found through the Scripture. The more we learn to trust in His revealed truth, the more we will find freedom in our lives. Wisdom comes from understanding His truth and following His direction.