When a man’s ways please the LORD, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him. ~ Proverbs 16:7

This is yet another verse that brought comfort during a trying time. Not long after my dad’s job situation turned bleak, my mother was offered a position as an elementary school principal. She had been a high school special education teacher and an elementary English teacher prior to this job offer. The only difficulty was that she wasn’t certified to be a principal. Under Arkansas Law, however, she had two years to obtain the necessary certification. At the end of the two years, if she had not complied to the legal standards, she would have to resign. After much prayer and research, Mom decided to take the job and work as quickly as possible to get the certification.

Not long after Mom’s acceptance, a parent and leader in that school district became agitated at my mother’s hiring. Mother didn’t have the proper certification, this woman argued. (Even though the law was on Mom’s side.) This angry woman lobbied the school board for my mother’s removal, as well as two other faculty members whom she deemed unfit to serve. I was only thirteen when all of this was happening. I’m pretty sure that my parents kept their conversations mostly under wraps so as not to worry me. But I heard enough through the juice glass at their door (just kidding) to know that both of my parents were battling fear and worry. My mother is the most sensitive, caring and hard-working woman I know. She couldn’t understand why this woman, who I’ll simply call “Mrs. S.”, was so unhappy with her.

There would have to be a school board meeting to decide my mother’s fate. Both sides would be heard, followed by a vote. Before the big meeting, I asked her how she was doing.

“I’m doing fine. Of course, I don’t like this, but the Lord has given me peace. He gave me a verse to cling to.” She then quoted Proverbs 16:7, ” ‘When a man’s ways please the Lord, he maketh even his enemies to be at peace with him.’ As long as I know I’m doing what would please the Lord;” she explained, “as long as He is my focus, I don’t need to worry about anyone else.”

She went to the meeting. Mrs. S. made her argument and was voted down! My mother went on to gain her principal’s certification before the two years were up. She served as the principal, and as a campus favorite, for nine successful years.

Mother lived out another verse during her years there, too. It was Matthew 5:44 –  But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you;

Mother managed to turn Mrs. S. from an enemy to a friend. She did this by showing kindness and support toward Mrs. S.’s children. Mother was respectful to this lady whenever they had cause for interaction. She listened to her. On the day my mother retired, Mrs. S. was sorry to see her go.

I was blessed to have parents who faced struggles head on, clinging to God’s promises. They demonstrated with their lives that God’s Word truly is a lamp unto our feet, and a light unto our path. (Psalm 119:105) I pray that the Lord will help me to follow in their footsteps.

Happy February 4th! Here’s another Bible verse that is dear to my heart:

For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.  ~ Proverbs 24:16

As a teenager, I couldn’t seem to stay out of trouble. I was always doing something wrong. My brother was a pastor and well-known in the churches in our area. My sister was away at Bible college being voted “Miss Compassionate.” I, on the other hand, was at home talking non-stop and lacking discretion. I was guilty of back-talking to my mom and dad. I was even known to blatantly disobey them.

Every time I misspoke, rebelled or disobeyed, though, I was smitten in the heart. That was the Holy Spirit. I truly hated the wrong that I had done. At the same time, I could see no hope of ever doing right. I can’t tell you how many times I cried myself to sleep, asking God, “Why can’t I be good, like Melanie?”

The Lord heard my cry. A preacher read this verse during a church service and it was as if the Lord illuminated it just for me! I was encouraged that even though I’d failed, and fallen, seven times (or maybe 107) I could get up. I could keep going. I could seek forgiveness from my Lord and from my parents and (here’s the best part) I could BE forgiven! I could put it behind me and move on.

That did not mean that I didn’t pay the consequences. After all, Ron Courtney was my dad. He didn’t let things “slide”. But I knew that the punishment meant he loved me, and that I was restored.

“Miss Compassionate”? No, I was not.

Loved by my Heavenly Father? Yes, most certainly.

I’m continuing my countdown to Valentine’s Day with my favorite Bible verses.

He that passeth by, and meddleth with strife belonging not to him, is like one that taketh a dog by the ears. ~ Proverbs 26:17

I will never forget this verse. It was quoted to me by my church bus driver when I was sixteen years old. I worked on that bus route for about three years as a teenager. At one point during those years, there was a “situation” brewing between some workers on our route. I got involved in the middle of it one bright Sunday morning, thinking I could help. Well….I didn’t exactly help. In fact, I had gotten my feelings hurt! I was lamenting this fact to my bus driver while we waited on the bus for some of the workers. Bro. Jenceson Payte, our driver, was a good friend of our family, and to me, he was kind of like a therapist that didn’t charge a fee. When I finished griping, he looked at me in the rear view mirror and said “Have you ever heard the verse in Proverbs that says “He that meddles with strife that doesn’t belong to him is like he that takes a dog by the ears?” His red hair seemed to make his face red…or maybe he was just mad at me. I knew he wasn’t angry at me, that was just his passion for truth-telling showing. At least that’s what I told myself.

“Yes, I’ve heard that verse, but I don’t know what it means. It sounds so weird. I mean, ‘Taketh a dog by the ears?’ ” I said, crinkling my nose.

“You know what happens when you take a dog by the ears, Valerie?” He asked me.

“No.”

“You get BIT!” He said emphatically.

The realization of that verse hit me hard that day on the bus. “Way to go, Valerie.” I thought. The Bible, and Jenceson, were exactly right. I had gotten “bit”. I had only wanted to help, but now I had people on both sides of the issue upset with me. They wouldn’t have been if I had stayed out of it. After all, it was really none of my business.

Fast forward to today. There has been more than one instance where I wanted to give my two-cents on an issue, especially when it involved my family members. Like most people, I want to stand up for the one I care about and tell their attackers a thing or two! But, as I go to the computer to fire off that angry e-mail, I remember this verse. I remember sitting on the bus. I remember a red-haired, red-faced bus driver telling me that I’ll get “bit”. I remember the pain of getting bitten once before. And I stop. I decide to let my friend or relative deal with their own strife. I’m going to pray for them and encourage them, but I’m not getting bitten again.

Every time I read Proverbs 26:17, I remember this story, and I thank God for friends who pointed me to the Bible with their lives, and their words.

I’m counting down to Valentine’s Day with verses I love from God’s precious Word. Today, I’m sharing Proverbs 11:22  –  As a jewel of gold in a swine’s snout, so is a fair woman which is without discretion.

I suppose this is an odd verse to love. But, as I grew into pre-adolescence, I was looking a whole lot like a pig with a jewel in my nose. I did not have discretion. I spoke too much, too loudly and always – always – spoke the wrong words at the wrong time. I can think of several illustrations from my past which would prove my point, but if I shared them with you, it would show that I had not learned my lesson about discretion. I don’t mean to say that now I have arrived in this area, because even to this day I catch myself sticking  my foot – or both of my feet – in my mouth all too often. But I do believe God has allowed me to improve over the years.

When I was about ten years old, my sister sent me a birthday gift from Bible college. It was a copy of the book Those Kids from Proverbsville by Elizabeth Rice Hanford. In the book, Mrs. Hanford illustrates Proverbs 11:22 with a short tale about a young girl who says the wrong thing and convinces her friends that her family is so poor, that they don’t even have food to eat. My mother had already been working to teach me discretion, and this story helped me to better understand what I was doing wrong. Until then, it seemed to me that the words just came out on their own. (Please tell me I’m not the only one who felt that way.) After reading that story, I began to memorize Proverbs 11:22. It helped me to remember to pause and reflect on what I was going to say before I said it. It showed me the power of a misplaced word. Or, in my case, misplaced millions-of-words.

Just as with yesterday’s verse, I am thankful to my mother for her faithful instruction to me in this area. I can still see her concerned expression as she said, after one of my many faux pas, “Think before you speak.” She knew I didn’t mean to say such thoughtless things, and she pointed me to God’s Word for help.

To this day, when I read through Proverbs and come across chapter eleven, verse twenty-two, I think of my struggle with words. I suppose it sounds silly, but God’s Word is right. Women without discretion are like a hogs with a diamond ring in their noses. Once you get that picture in your head, you really want to be the opposite! With God as my helper, I can be.