April 4

Proverbs 12:15-17
“The way of a fool seems right to him, but a wise man listens to advice. A fool shows his annoyance at once but a prudent man overlooks an insult.”
Growing up, my family got 2 newspapers a day. The Atlanta Constitution in the morning and The Atlanta Journal in the evening.
The morning paper was sacred. No one got to look at it until my dad finished with it and since he was the last to get up almost every morning (which was why we were almost always late to school since he drove us Tuesday – Friday), we never read it.
The evening paper was different. It was usually there when we got home from school and we grabbed it and divided it up amongst the three of us. Alfred read the sports, Debbie avidly followed the comics, but I LOVED the Ann Landers column. Ann Landers wrote an advice column and she was very frank. I learned about all sorts of things that I don’t think my mother would have approved of me learning at a fairly young age. *She* would not have approved of Moses’ dictum on ‘nocturnal emissions’. I also think she was a very sagacious (SAT prep word!!) and rarely made a bad call. If she did and readers objected, she printed their rebuttals and either backed down or stated her case. I loved her. I only wrote one letter to her and it was about college applications. She did not print my letter but I got a nice letter back from her office telling me that she had received my letter and unfortunately could not print them all nor could she answer individual mail. But they did include a pamphlet on making decisions. I thought that was very helpful and felt like my larger question – what to do with myself – had received some advice that I found acceptable.
What was even more interesting to me later was that she was a twin, an identical twin, and her sister also wrote a nationally syndicated column – Dear Abby. And even more astounding to me was that they were ‘estranged’. Seems like she should have taken her own advice!
Our proverb today says that a wise man listens to advice. Earlier in Proverbs, we read that a wise man keeps his own counsel. So which one is it, Mr. Know-it-all?
I think Ann would say, Sylvia, it is both. Sometimes, you need to keep your mouth shut and follow your instincts. Other times, you need to stop, question wise people, then make up your mind. The trick is knowing which occasion the problem fits into.
Example 1, Don and I have a fight. Whatever we are fighting about, that usually isn’t the real reason for the upset. This is not a time to get advice. Anyone who I know does not need to know the down and dirty details about us. Keep your mouth shut, pray a good bit, follow your instincts.
Example 2, Matthew wants to go to any unsupervised lake party for the weekend. I am stunned. Don has more questions than I have answers. Step back, go to my wise women friends who have already been there, done that, ask advice. Then make up my mind that I should have been more stunned.
These are the easy ones. There are others out there that are so much harder. And then there are the ones that you think should fall into Example 1 but turn out to have really been Example 2.
Then we have to have a discussion about forgiving ourselves. Ann Landers had a theory on that one, too. I’ll save that for when the proverb describing that one shows up.

NT – Luke 10:38-11:13
I hate to say it, but I am a Martha gal. Ever busy. I don’t do much sitting. I have a really, really hard time relating to Mary. And don’t I know some Marys.
Church can sometimes be hard for us Marthas. I have been known to make grocery lists, design the addition to my house, work out a new diet plan, and decide on vacation destinations.
Is this you? Or are you Mary? How do you make yourself just sit at Jesus’ feet and just be? Can I say that I am somewhat envious? And the part that is not, has the prideful streak of running around boasting “Look how much I can get done!!!” But who is the one who is not happy? Who is the one who is stressed out? Martha.
Maybe, after Matthew graduates and all my spring chores are done, I will take on the babysteps that will help me stop the Marthaing and really focus my attention on Jesus and learn to be Mary. She chose. I can too.

Blessings on your day and your meditations.