Morning Devotional

October  20, 2005
"a Lesson Learned"      
    by Don Emmitte

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Seventy years are given to us! Some may even reach eighty. But even the best of these years are filled with pain and trouble; soon they disappear, and we are gone. Who can comprehend the power of your anger? Your wrath is as awesome as the fear you deserve. Teach us to make the most of our time, so that we may grow in wisdom. (Psalm 90:10-13 NLT).

As has been my practice on those special days of the year when we celebrate the birthdays of my family, I usually write something about the lessons learned from them through the years. Today is my youngest son’s birthday. (Happy Birthday, Aaron!) Through the years he has been a wonderful source of inspiration to me. It sounds strange to hear that our children might be such a source of learning for us, but usually God teaches us best through those who are closest to us.

In thinking back over the many lessons learned, I was drawn to the reading this morning from Psalm 90. Making the most of our time ought to be centered in our desire to grow in wisdom. I am afraid that often we spend our time trying to build a bigger “war chest” for that inevitable rainy day.

Aaron’s sense of humor has always been spontaneous. He is somewhat more introspective than my other sons, but his wit is just as sharp. Often it might be that he has just one word in response to a situation, but it is so funny that I cannot help but laugh aloud. Many years ago, when he was very small (he is 22 today), we were walking outdoors as a flock of geese flew over. They were in the familiar vee formation and he asked why they flew like that. Of course my response was a bit more technical than he might have desired, but I explained that they used this formation to provide lift for the rest of the flock in their long flights. In fact, I went on to explain that when the lead bird tired, they would drop to the back of the flight to rest while another bird took their place in front. I thought I did a pretty good job of teaching him a pretty important lesson, especially as I explained the need for us to help one another through life. It was one of those special moments as he asked, “Do they know any other letters?” I couldn’t help but laugh!

You see, learning passes through three stages as we grow in wisdom. First, we learn the right answers. That’s what I gave him in the explanation of the vee formation. Second, we learn the right questions. Truth be known, I doubt that he was that interested in such a technical explanation of the reason for the vee formation. I rather think he just wanted to interact with me and know that I was paying attention to him. The last stage of learning is perhaps the most important. We learn to recognize which questions are worth asking! It has taken me a while to learn that. I owe that wisdom to my children. Thanks! Oh, and by the way, while you are interacting with your children today, look beyond the surface of their action and let God teach you some eternal truth. He wants to do that. After all, that’s what we ought to be seeking.