I don't know exactly when it happened, and neither does my husband. But one moment we young, indecisive, impulsive, and basically flew by the seat-0f-our-pants, and THOUGHT we had all the answers. Our parents were old and didn't have a clue, and boy were we COOL!
Then one day: POOF! We are middle aged. Our sleek figures have been replaced with bodies who defy explanation. Cool? What's that? My children sucked the cool right out of me. They think *cool* & *Mom* are an oxymoron.
But something magical DID happen... We became rather WISE.
20 years ago, (my how time flies), we were idiots. We couldn't manage money, time, emotions, or relationships. We made mistakes right and left. It was the most painful time of our lives. Every turn was met with potential failure, and we lived paycheck to paycheck. At one point I was just WEARY of life being so hard! I wondered if it would ever get better, and what could possibly change that would make any difference?
While we were younger, we busied ourselves by making mistakes. You name it- We did it. One after another as far as the eye can see... we messed up. We messed up our lives, others lives, and tormented our clueless parents in the process. We tried and failed and tried again. We reinvented ourselves numerous times and tried to raise families in the midst of all this drama. We struggled, and fought authority. We rallied against all that our parents tried to teach us for the sake of our own pride and arrogance.
And then one day, the kids grew up and a few gray hairs appeared. Old addages like: "You lie down with dogs, you get up with fleas" started making sense and our hindsight was 20/20. We no longer bounced checks and as time flew, our credit rating improved. Time really did heal all and tomarrow really is another day.
As I sit here in my new-found contentment at age 46, I realize that wisdom is born from pain. Without the agony of our mistakes, we would have never found the right answers. Our children now come to us for answers to thier problems, be it medical, emotional, financial or spiritual. For all appearances, we seem to have our act together and while there still may be mistakes left to be made, they are further and fewer between.
The most wonderful part is knowing that God REALLY does give beauty for ashes. When you take the worst part of your youth and lay it at Gods feet,... when you humble yourself and set your pride on the shelf... when you take your selfish desires out of the picture and replace them with others needs, God rewards you with wisdom. He also gives you second and sometimes third chances to get it right. As time passes, and you bend your will to HIS, he makes a new creation out of the old.
The funny thing is; by the time the process is in full swing; your wondering where the old you is at? What happened and better yet: HOW did it happen? Time waits for noone. God is busy molding you while you were messing up. He used those seemingly impossible times to make a wonderful person, full of wit, wisdom, and an endless amount of old wives tails, idioms, and home remedies. Lock and load baby! Your ready to fire off the answers if someone will only ask! (Oh and they will!) I mean this metaphorically, for the non-resistant *wink*
Now, it's your turn. Your still not cool. But you are wise. Go pass that wisdom on to those who are in the midst of their own youthful drama and just sit and watch. While they make act like they don't hear you... they do. They just don't believe you yet. Give them a few years, and when they get a little gray at the temples, making more wise choices and fewer mistakes, you can take joy in seeing the process repeat itself. It's a generational blessing for those who take time to witness it.
Peace
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