Fresh-Air Wisdom That Makes You Want to Go Barefoot

A couple of weeks ago we looked at Proverbs 7, and if you read it, it might have made you squirm uncomfortably in your seat. This brash woman is lingering in dark alleys, waiting to seduce and deceive. (You can catch that post here if you missed it.)

Now, I have great news. Proverbs 8 is this beautiful opposite picture. Sigh of relief.

It shares the story of Wisdom, (again personified as a woman) crying aloud in the streets. 

Now, you might pause with a question reading Proverbs 8. If Lady Wisdom is crying aloud in the streets, where is she? How do I hear her? What is this extended metaphor even talking about?

Honestly, the only people I’ve ever seen shouting about Jesus to strangers in the streets seemed… nuts, to put it delicately.

This great contrast to the seductive secrecy of the brash woman we read about in Proverbs 7 — this Truth that can be proclaimed from high hills and at city entrances. It’s not dishonesty and secrets that are whispered in dark alleys. But, again we ask, where is Wisdom for us to hear her?

To make things tidy and organized for you, over the next few weeks we’re going to look at a few different places we can look for Wisdom. If She is so plainly shouting in the streets, is it possible that we’re missing her? Or what sense can we make of this passage?

First up, Look Up

Do you know those beautiful verses from Psalm 19 that speak about how the heavens declare the glory of the Lord, and the skies show us His handiwork? I loved discovering the way The Message translates these thoughts:

God’s glory is on tour in the skies,
    God-craft on exhibit across the horizon.
Madame Day holds classes every morning,
    Professor Night lectures each evening.

Their words aren’t heard,
    their voices aren’t recorded,
But their silence fills the earth:
    unspoken truth is spoken everywhere.

Even though the heavens don’t “speak” in the literal sense — they still tell the truth of a faithful, consistent, unchanging Creator who dreamed sunsets into being, and decided what the patterns sunlight would make as it filters through the leaves of each and every tree and scatters on the forest floor. The God who breathed both constellations and caterpillars and decided giraffes only needed seven vertebrae in their neck, just like humans. That still puzzles my puzzler.

Remember that beautiful Elizabeth Barrett Browning poem that says —

Earth is crammed with heaven, And every common bush afire with God;
But only he who sees, takes off his shoes —
The rest sit round it and pluck blackberries.
{Elizabeth Barrett Browning}

Only he who sees takes off his shoes. We can not must not lose our sense of wonder at Creation, the handiwork of God. 

I stood under our big magnolia tree this afternoon, just looking up the great knobby trunk and at the branches, stretching out in every direction like spokes around the wheel of a bicycle, and I couldn’t help but marvel and think: What whispers from the Creator would I hear a little better, if I just made sure to take a little time to slow and experience His Creation? 

We are in a strange place, friends. We’re walking through uncharted territory in unusual times.

If God is the rewarder of those who diligently seek Him, and we trust He is the Creator, it might do us some good to breath fresh air and marvel at His creation for a while. All these things that were before we came to be and will be when we’re gone. What does He whisper through His creation?

Stand outside and look up at the trees or down at the all tiny insects you might find in a section of grass on the ground no bigger than your hand — could this be seeking Him? And could you be rewarded by finding Him? 

Wisdom truly is plainly on display for us to see in the glorious Creation all around us. So this is my hope and my challenge and my encouragement for you to go one day deeper in the Lord today: step outside and look for a reason to wonder. Take a moment without kids, or spouses or an agenda, however much of a moment you can take, and watch a bird fly or look at the intricate design of a single blade of grass. Examine the moss on a tree trunk or rub the veins of a leaf between your fingers, even if it’s just the potted plant by the window.

Then, point your soul toward heaven and just ask for wisdom with a teachable heart, like a child. Ask God to help you see something that makes you, like Moses, want to take off your shoes. 

This season is not forever. The sun will rise again. Let your bare feet touch the grass. Breathe and trust the Author, Who saw this coming and hasn’t stopped writing your story.

Wisdom cries out for us, friends. Perhaps we need to quiet down a little to listen.

Psst… Did you catch the news last week about a new resource I created for you? It’s called Ten Simple Ways to Share Your Faith With Your Kids, and you can find it on the brand new Parenting Resources page I ALSO created for you! Find all the good stuff at https://www.carolinecollie.com/parenting/. 

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I sure hope this was an encouragement to you today! Could you use some more encouragement during this crazy pandemic? If so, you can subscribe and never miss my (weekly) posts by clicking right here. I’ll do a happy dance, and you’ll get encouraging words in your inbox once a week! (I’ll also send you an awesome Meal Plan Step-by-Step Guide… Definitely a win/win! Hint: I Instant Pot like nobody’s business.) 

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