Watch Your Step

Last month Scott, Ally and I were invited to a very special outing. Ben's fiancee Kate and her mom Tammy included us in a family reunion of sorts up at Word of Life (my happy place). I like to refer to it as Meet The Wyrtzens Day.

I had to overcome some feelings of unworthiness to be in the presence of what I consider achieved Christian greatness. Not in an idol worship kind of way, rather as heroes of the faith. You may remember some of my thoughts about Kate's heritage in my last blogpost.

I felt nervous and excited, trusting God wouldn't let me say anything stupid or immature. I mean, this is my son's future family. Best not to embarrass him too much right out of the gate.

As we pulled onto the Lodge property and spotted Kate's great uncles, it looked like three little white haired Jack Wyrtzen's walking around and I chuckled.

The day consisted of us mingling through different conversations. To our great delight, we discovered skilled storytellers. We listened carefully to every word. We laughed at mischievous boys walking out to Word of Life Island on a freezing cold winter day, their mother not knowing where they were. We marveled at the significant impact each has made on their generation - pilot, professor, musician and more! It was fun to hear who their contemporaries are (more Christian greats) and how each life has been lived for the Gospel.
I came away learning more Word of Life history which was a thrill. Amazing how God has been at work for so many years through this ministry and continues to be.

No matter which circle we sat in, the truest discovery was that we were surrounded by wisdom. We hung on every word.

The most prominent takeaway for me was the collective conclusion, No matter what you're going through you don't have to worry. The Lord is in charge and everything will work out.

One said several times, "When you've walked with the Lord long enough, you know He works everything together and there was never any need to worry. Just wait and see."

I love that. I needed to hear it. I need to be reminded of it.


When was the last time you heard words spoken with such a confident matter-of-factness?

Or do we "comfort" one another with less faith-filled responses to another's pain like:
"I don't know what to say."
"This is so hard. I feel sorry for you."
"I don't know how I'd do it if I were in your shoes."
"I couldn't handle this kind of pain. I'll pray for you."
"If I could, I'd fix it for you."

Not very life-giving or encouraging or helpful. Yuck. If I haven't spoken them out loud, I certainly have thought all of those things. Those statements are not consistent with wisdom and don't come out of the mouth of one who knows the God of the bible.

How does one become wise? One way...

Walk with the wise and become wise, for a companion of fools suffers harm. Prov. 13:20

What kind of harm? All kinds of harm. Every kind of harm. Not-worth-it kind of harm.

Take a look around you. Who are you walking with? Are you being drawn toward wisdom or toward foolishness? If you're not sure, ask someone you look up to.

This discovery will likely make or break your quest for a life marked by wisdom and/or how well you affect the lives of those around you.

I love walking next to wise people and take every opportunity. When I do, I feel challenged to step up to more and step away from less.

Scott and I were fortunate enough to spend our last day off of the summer with some other special friends a generation ahead of us. We sat for hours and listened to them talk. On our way home, we both agreed, "We need to hang out with older friends more. They are so calm and steady in their faith."

I don't know about you, but I could use more calm and steady to keep me calm and steady. More wisdom to rub off on me. Because the reality is I'm older now, gulp, and it's my responsibility to be that person for those coming behind. What a privilege. What an honor. A responsibility that requires me to make decisions to that end.

Wisdom is found on the lips of the discerning...Prov. 10:13

From the mouth of the righteous comes the fruit of wisdom...Prov. 10:31

More walking with wisdom, less engaging with foolishness. It really does matter who we walk with. That's a good word for today.

_____________________

PS. on a much shallower level...we even got to take a ride on Jack's boat all over Schroon Lake!

I pinched myself repeatedly. Are we really going to be a part of this family?
We, as in Ben, of course. But you know.