Daily Devotional for July 24, 2007

Proverbs 17
21 He that begetteth a fool doeth it to his sorrow: and the father of a fool hath no joy.
22 A merry heart doeth good like a medicine: but a broken spirit drieth the bones.
23 A wicked man taketh a gift out of the bosom to pervert the ways of judgment.
24 Wisdom is before him that hath understanding; but the eyes of a fool are in the ends of the earth.
25 A foolish son is a grief to his father, and bitterness to her that bare him.
26 Also to punish the just is not good, nor to strike princes for equity.
27 He that hath knowledge spareth his words: and a man of understanding is of an excellent spirit.
28 Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise: and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
(Scripture taken from the King James Version, 1987 printing. The KJV is public domain in the United States. To read this passage from The Message, go to www.biblegateway.com and do a passage lookup.)

When I was growing up, my mother and my grandmother made almost everything my sister and I wore. They sewed for hours and days to keep us clothed. We didn’t have a closet full of clothes, but we had enough. For the longest time, it seemed like my mother had only ONE dress that she wore over and over so that she could spend her time sewing for us instead. I know she sacrificed her own clothing needs to see that ours were met. And we had very nice clothes.

My grandmother could make anything she saw, so when the new Sears and Penney’s catalogs came, we showed her pictures of dresses we liked, and she and my mom made them! Oh, maybe our dress was blue instead of red like the one in the picture, or more often the fabric was a little different from the one the stores sold, but the style and pattern were the same as the picture. I remember one year in particular, when I must have been in 7th or 8th grade, and I had two really cool dresses (for the day). One was a rusty orange polo-style dress with a pocket near the hem, and that pocket held a black/white polka-dotted scarf for decoration. It looked JUST like one that JCPenney was selling in their fall catalog. I also had a white knit dress with black velvet ribbon laced through the neckline and the sleeve hems - again, exactly like one in the catalog. And my friends LOVED those dresses. They wished THEIR mothers and grandmothers could sew like that!

“Store-bought” clothing cost more than my parents could afford. And yet, we so wanted a “store-bought” dress like our friends. Our town had a few nice dress shops – this was well before we had Wal-Mart or Target – and my sister and I would thumb through the racks and dream of what we would buy if we could afford them. When I was in junior high, a very nice dress shop held an end-of-season sale, and my mother bought a couple of dresses for me. They were actually on sale for less than it would cost her to make them, so it was a good investment of her time and money. I was THRILLED with my dresses, and when I wore the first one to school, my friends applauded!

But you know what? More than one of my friends told me how much they preferred my home-made dresses. One friend in particular so wanted my white dress with the black velvet ribbon trim. She loved that dress! But more than that, I think she loved the fact that my mom and grandmother had given their time and talents to make it for me – a gesture of love and caring on a level she didn’t get from her own mother and grandmother.

See, there was a lot more going on at my house than just sewing clothes and saving money. My mom and grandmother taught us, without saying anything, quite a few lessons. We learned how to live within our means. We learned how to save our money for the things we could NOT make, like a versatile pair of shoes to go with our dresses. We saw a woman working side by side with her mother-in-law to create pretty things for two girls – clothing them and making them happy all at the same time. We saw sacrifice in the things these women did for themselves in order to have time for us.

In my adult life, I’ve acquired closets full of clothes and over-indulged in purchases. But I have never forgotten the lessons I learned as a child. I know that in the wisdom of these two women, I gained an understanding of more than one of life’s lessons – living within your means, being happy with less, not trying to always keep up with others, and more. “Wisdom is before him that hath understanding…” Do you understand the efforts your parents or others around you are making on your behalf? Do you appreciate what is being done for you on this earth – and more importantly, by your Heavenly Father? Are you making the most of these gifts, or are you an “unhappy fool with a spirit like dry bones”? Search your heart and your life today, and examine what is taking place -- and where you might need an attitude adjustment.

©2007 Debbie Robus