A Garland of Favor

 I believe we all agree that life is very difficult in so many ways. God knew that is how it would be, so He designed a way to help us in life. God's way is the family. From the beginning it was God's plan for a man to take a wife, and then, for the couple to bear children. In this way each and every child would be brought into a loving environment. Every child would have a father to instruct and a mother to teach. I know there are no perfect families, but God's way has worked since time began. Solomon knew this, and he gave us an admonition for our own good. (Proverbs 1:8-9) We must listen to our father's instruction, and we must not reject our mother's teaching. If we do that they will be a garland of favor on our head and pendants around our neck. In other words, we will be blessed by what is taught, as we hear it and obey it.

Now that both of my parents have gone to be with the Lord, I often take time to remember them and what they taught me. In fact, Chris and I will say, "I am turning into my father or my mother," because we see the things they taught us and their characteristics coming out in our lives.  Some people see this as a negative, but Solomon told us just the opposite. Our parents loved us. They taught us out of their experience, so we would escape the hardships they had encountered. Therefore, if we listen, what our parents taught us will be a garland of favor on our head. A garland was a small crown given to one who won a race. Yes, we will be winners, if we heed our parents' instruction. Also, if we do not reject what they taught us, those things will be like pendants around our neck. They will adorn our lives for all to see the beauty of what we were taught. Solomon was the wisest man to ever live, and this is one of the most insightful things he said for us to remember. I pray we will always cherish what we learned from our parents and wear it for all to see.

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Tomorrow, I intend to read Proverbs 3-5.