I read and reread the proverb with a fresh flood of memories coming each time.
I am sitting on the #42 bus in San Francisco. The day is bright, sunny, and unusually warm. Cherry and I link up on the way home, sitting together near the back of the bus. The day is full of opportunities, spring and love is in the air! As we ride along, I can see that she wants to tell me something that is not quite as funny as she finds it. Finally she can contain herself no longer.
She was a young girl fresh from the country facing life in the big city. Smart, well educated, a professional worker; the world seemed to be candy waiting to be experienced and consumed. As she walked and chatted to those on the street she encountered a card game underway. Just three cards he said, and the rest was already history. Money we did not have, pride we had a plenty, were both gone, left there on the street for a laugh and a smile. Somehow the love between us made up for the missing twenty.
I thought I had it all figured out. How hard could it be to stand in front of fifty people and give a short talk? Notes would not be necessary. Reminders were a luxury that would remain in the closet this day. Cue cards were for amateurs. When I stood to share my well prepared and thoroughly thought out remarks, even after repeating each one twice, I consumed less than 90 seconds and sat down.
“Even dunces who keep quiet are thought to be wise; as long as they keep their mouths shut, they’re smart.” (Proverbs 17.28)
I listened to remarks made by another sharing the journey recently. I found myself filled with compassion because I have held the very thing that he longed for and still seeks. I know now that I do not have answers, I can only indicate. God is the only thing real and He is here, reaching out to you and me.
