Another year is about to pass into history. It’s been an eventful year and one with the usual “ups” and “downs”. If you are like me, you take the “ups” with great energy and joy, but the “downs” are not so easy to take. I always admire folks who take life’s ‘lumps’ with great grace and dignity - in other words, in their stride. On rare occasions, I am given the grace to respond to the down moments with some amount of dignity - but those occasions are all too rare.
For the past several days I’ve been thinking about a history channel program I saw sometime in the past several weeks (at least I think it was the history channel). The program related to Biblical history (I don’t remember the specific focus) and the one thing that stuck with me was a few moments about Solomon and a ’society’ he establised for wise men (remember, it was a very patriarchial culture in those days). The commentator mentioned that one had to be at least “40 years of age” before applying for membership as that was thought to be the age at which one began to achieve a level of ‘wisdom’.
Did Solomon, considered to be the wisest man on the earth at that time, know something we don’t know? Or was his wisdom about when wisdom begins to ripen something we’ve lost over the ages?
As I recall the commentator went on to give a few reasons why Solomon’s societal rules limited membership to those at least 40 years of age. The one that caught my attention was the belief that prior to age 40, one had not lived enough of life or had enough life experiences upon which to gain a sense of meaningful understanding - which Solomon sensed was the foundation and substance of what he called “wisdom”.
It was an affirmation for me. It was also confirmation that something more than hormonal change occurs sometime around our 40th birthday or at least in the decade following the 40th year of life. And it isn’t just limited to women, as now much is written about “male menopause”.
But I don’t want to go the physiology route here. At AWP we are less about menopause (eh gads, there are enough boomer and boomer menopause sites out there for those who want to focus exclusively on that aspect); and much more about learning how to deal with the life changes that come as we move into and through the 2nd half of the journey, which medical science says should occur sometime between our 40th and 50th chronological year.
I was delighted to pick up this little ’snippet’ of info from the history channel’s presentation. I was even more amazed that even in Solomon’s time, there was a recognition (or at least an intuition) that life experiences and our ability to make meaning of them and learn from them forms the basis of wisdom.
The Bible says that “fear (awe) of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom”. Solomon held great awe for the Lord. Solomon’s wisdom came because his one request was to have wisdom greater than any other person living in his day. But Solomon also knew that to have wisdom, we had to make sense of our life experiences as the building blocks to maturity - maturity that leads to wisdom. A wisdom that ultimately must recognize who we are in relation to Him who is God Almighty.
As we prepare to celebrate the passing of the old and the entry of the new - in terms of hours, days and years - let us resolve to seek after wisdom as Solomon did.
Let us vow to take time to reflect on all that comes our way in the coming year and find the ‘meat’ of meaning in it so that it becomes a source of greater knowledge that leads to a deeper sense of who we are and who He is. Then let us partake of the guidance and direction that is ours for the asking and the taking!
Let us resolve to grow in wisdom and stature in such a way as to be a source of enrichment and encouragement for others as together we find our way on the journey.
May our celebration of the coming New Year be blessed in everyway. And may this day find you enjoying much love and many rich blessings!
Today is the first day of a brand new year! A year designed for fruitfulness and plenty. God has great things in store for each of us, so let us welcome the coming new year with enthusiasm, energy and a sense of excitement.
Author Resource:-
Linda S. Fitzgerald, M.S.Ed, has a passion for enriching, empowering and encouraging women to achieve their God-given destiny. A professional therapist by background and destiny-design coach, she is chief architect for the web’s newest online COMMUNITY for all women whether over 40 or not! Please visit http://www.awomensplace.org/blog for great information on topics of interest to women transitioning through life’s most exciting season. Checkout http://www.awomensplace.org to join dynamic women of excellence as we journey through the 2nd half of life together!
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