The Bible speaks very highly of wisdom. King Solomon sought this above all else. But what exactly is wisdom? For an extended time I believed that wisdom was gained by years spent on this earth. However, I actually have learned that while time on earth can enrich their wisdom, it’s an individual’s experiences that actually swing the pendulum from “intelligent” to “smart.”
My grandmother, Bonnie Sue (aka Maw Maw), met the Lord on a Sunday evening in February 1961. Since then, she has had many experiences on the feet of Jesus. Her biblical knowledge goes far beyond many scholars, and her belief in God’s truth is what gives me hope for our world.
I feel everyone may gain advantage from the wisdom of Maw Maw, each biblical and non-biblical. So I sat down together with her to share with you, dear reader, a little bit of her truth:
“What advice would you give to women of their twenties?”
Mawmaw quickly told me that ladies of their twenties have to do three things. “Get as much education as possible. Create the muse for an ideal future and be independent.“ When I used to be growing up, my Maw Maw at all times told me to maintain diligently in my studies. She highlighted how learning a skill or getting a level can ensure a girl’s success in a person’s world.
Second, women of their twenties should “Hold to very high moral standards“. So often in today’s culture, women are encouraged to compromise their morals and modesty with a view to succeed. Whether that success is climbing the company ladder, attracting men’s attention, or making friends, Maw Maw desires to ensure that all women know that their worldwide success and approval just isn’t value compromising morals.
Finally, Mawmaw wanted all 20-year-olds “TO MEenjoy life – you may never be 20 again“. This beautiful and chaotic decade of your life is destined to make mistakes. You shouldn’t know what you are doing next. No matter how organized another person may look, nobody has an idea for his or her life before thirty. So enjoy a decade where you are free to make mistakes, change your mind, and have adventures. Enjoy and praise Jesus on your health and youth. Your 20s is probably the most hectic and capable time of your life. Enjoy the season!
What advice would you give women of their 30s?
Let’s be honest, your 30s are the brand new 20s. Now is the time to be a cute soccer mom, a contract CEO, a traveling junkie, or regardless of the Lord has led you to! I loved hearing Maw Maw discuss this stage of life. The theme of the last decade was stability and wild femininity. First, women of their thirties, “Decide exactly what you would like out of life and do it.” Yes my friend, it’s that easy. Talk to the Lord, select your path and, with Jesus’ hand in yours, run after it. If your 20’s were a large number, now you possibly can clean it up. Maybe life is not what you wanted, so change it. Still eager about getting that degree? Still need to open this business? Baby, you are not getting any younger. Down. This.
Next, “Plan a family in the event you need a family”. Some women don’t seek motherhood; this just isn’t the time God has called them to. Some struggle to start out a family and depend on their faith. Some have 4 children under the age of eight and are overwhelmed. Whoever you might be, Maw Maw and I need you to take a deep breath, say an extended prayer, and make a plan. Plan the way you will raise your kids. Plan and pray for the house you would like them to grow up in.
Last, “Start a financial security plan – IRA or CD.” Investing is not only for the wealthy. My grandparents set an exponential financial example. They didn’t idolize money, but they knew the worth of the dollar. They used their financial blessing to speculate in my and my sister’s future.
“What advice would you give to women aged 40-50?”
I actually have often heard that ladies of their 40s and 50s begin to experience a midlife crisis, which led me to ask my Maw Maw how she navigated this stage of her life with grace, joy, and purpose.
“Start preparing for an empty nest.” My grandparents had two children who flew out of the nest of their twenties. Maw Maw missed her children back home and like all mother she has undergone the stage of grief that comes when your kids make their very own path and leave home. That’s why she says that preparing for this stage of life can higher enable you cope. Learning to let go when the time comes might be hard, but it may even be time to rekindle romance along with your spouse, discover a latest hobby, or travel!
Women at this stage may want to start out “Retirement Planning”. Now, Maw Maw doesn’t just mean financial planning. Retirement is your time to be about you again. Life is not any longer about climbing the ladder or moving up the company ladder. No have to pack a diaper bag or worry about soccer practice on the weekends. During this era of well-deserved rest, you possibly can allow yourself to benefit from the life with which God has blessed you comprehensively.
“Enjoy your life, because life is over 40.” I feel that is advice anyone could take from Maw Maw. Enjoy the time God has given you since it is actually a present.
2 Corinthians 9:8 he reminds us of this when he says: “And God is in a position to bless you abundantly, in order that in all the pieces and in any respect times, having all the pieces you would like, you might abound in every good work.”
“After 52 years of marriage, how did you do it?”
In typical Maw Maw fashion, she began with a “joke.” “Well, be deaf, dumb and blind.” Maybe he’s as much as something here… But to be honest, Maw Maw said, “You care more concerning the feelings of others than your personal” and “while you do not like them, sit down and skim the Bible. God will inform you why you’ll like them.”
Marriage may look like a production in modern America with all of the finance, filmography and theater surrounding the event. Marriage may even feel like a social obligation to maintain up along with your closest circle or Instagram fans. Perhaps it is a checklist item to reassure the family or draw old ladies out of church. However, Maw Maw and Pepy’s marriage has survived every financial struggle, movie or social pressure I’ve ever seen proving it to be real.
At last, I need to encourage you, reader, to go to the smart people God has placed in your life, just as I went to Maw Maw to ask her for wisdom in life, profession decisions, funds, and relationships. There’s a reason you could have special people in your life. They have undergone valleys and mountains that you could have not yet experienced, so take heed to them and take what they are saying to heart.
Image credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/fizkes
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