Blessed are those who find wisdom… She is a tree of life to those who take hold of her; those who hold her fast will be blessed (Proverbs 3:13,18).

Who are the wisest people you know? What makes those people wise? How do they stand out as different from others? The more I read from Proverbs, the more I am reminded of a wise woman, we called Miss Patty, who was like a second mom to me. 

I met Miss Patty when I was living in South Korea. I was a stay-at-home mom at the time juggling 3 kids under 5. I was living so far away from my own mom, and really needed wisdom and guidance as I was navigating the blessings and difficulties of motherhood.

Miss Patty was leading my Women’s Bible Study at the time. She had a solid knowledge of Scripture that was coupled with humility and reverence for the Lord. She lived out what she taught.  All of the young moms in my group looked up to her because of her wisdom and her godly example to all of us. People sought out her counsel and respected her opinions because she walked closely with the Lord, and His wisdom poured out of her. 

She was always posting Scriptures and praising God through her messages on Facebook too. Because of her love for others, people were open to listening to her correction as well.   People loved to be around her. I think it was Miss Patty’s strong relationship with the Lord that allowed her to be so wise and loving, although she probably didn’t consider herself wise. She was always seeking the Lord to gain knowledge and wisdom.

Proverbs personifies wisdom as a woman that we are blessed to find. She is also called a tree of life that we are exhorted to take hold of in order to find blessings. When we take hold of wisdom, this tree of life, we get to feast on her fruits: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Gentleness, Faithfulness and Self-Control. Proverbs says that this will lead to happy and peaceful paths.

Thinking back about Miss Patty, I think her humility helped her to be in a position to receive wisdom. She was wise enough to know that she needed wisdom, so she sought after it.  Secondly, she knew that if wisdom was a tree, then Jesus was the root of it. The wisdom she sought out was Biblical wisdom, which often countered the wisdom of this world. It was this posture that brought blessings into her life and allowed her to bless others.

As you read through Proverbs, consider asking God to humble your heart, so that you are open to receiving His wisdom. Then once you find it, never let it go.