Proverbs

As I was packing up some things in boxes and heading back to school again, I came across a pile of index cards with bible verses written on them.  I had written these years ago to serve as encouragement in a peculiar and chaotic world.  Here was wisdom that I used to chew on throughout my middle school years and on into college, until I graduated and began to favor experience as a greater teacher.  After spending a few years traveling around, living in different settings and meeting people from near and far - drifting away from some of those established roots - I now find myself not only returning to academics but also to a setting similar to where I grew up (where the sun and moon are large and the air reeks of farmland) and doting over some of these old verses and beliefs I used to treasure so much.  Here they are, along with a story written by a friend in a letter I found to do with the curious power of prayer...

Each heart knows its own bitterness, and no one else can share its joy.  Proverbs 14:10

A cheerful look brings joy to the heart, and good news gives health to the bones.  Proverbs 15:30

What he trusts in is fragile; what he relies on is a spider's web.  He leans on his web, but it gives way; he clings to it but it does not hold.  Job 7:14-15

A man's steps are directed by the LORD.  How then can anyone understand his own way.  Proverbs 20:24

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1

A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.  Proverbs 15:13

Gold there is, and rubies in abundance, but lips that speak knowledge are a rare jewel.  Proverbs 20:15

A man's pride brings him low, but a man of lowly spirit gains honor.  Proverbs 29:23

A man's riches ransom his life, but a poor man hears no threat.  Proverbs 13:8

The path of the righteous is like the first gleam of dawn, shining ever brighter to til the full light of day.  Proverbs 4:18

Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourself.  Philippians 2:3

Jackie: Part 1 (because there are many)

Jackie is a senior.  He is very concerned with his body image, and not a day goes by that he does not announce to me that he is "too fat".  The greatest shame in all this, Jackie tells me, is that he is unable to fit into Prada - his favorite clothing brand.  Since discovering that I talk to God on a regular basis, I am hardly able to pass Jackie without him asking that I pray for him to lose a couple pounds.

Yesterday, he ran up to me excitedly asking if I had prayed for him the night before.  I had, though not exactly about weight loss. "Yes," I told him, "last night."

"It worked! I went to the bathroom three times. I already feel thinner," he spoke very quickly - as he almost always seems to.  "Uh, I don't know if it works that way..." I sort of stammered.  But Jackie would hear nothing of it.  He grabbed the wolf's tooth that hung on a chord around his neck and with a far off look declared, "I'm a very religious person."

The End (until tomorrow)

- written by a very dear friend