Taking a Stand for Proverb Living

A segment of Day of Discovery this past Sunday morning touched me deeply. We've watched it for years and always come away feeling like we've learned something. This Sunday the program highlighted the work Nadine Hennesey was doing in war-torn Kosovo. Her husband of eleven months lost his life in the line of duty while she was pregnant with their first child. Nadine struggled with her faith, uncertain why God would have allowed the situation. Meanwhile, God was laying the groundwork for Nadine and her daughter as He tendered her heart toward the children of Kosovo trying to survive when one or both of their parents lost their lives during the war, schools bombed out and infrastructure for a brighter future seemingly gone.

Nadine moved to Mitrovica, Kosova, and collaborated with God to establish a school called the School of Laughter for children who lost parents in the war. These children lost their childhood when they lost their parents. Her goal was a jumpstart on quality education and an opportunity to know the innocent laughter of childhood.

Interviews with Nadine and a few of her former students made it clear; God was the Superintendent of the School of Laughter. Many students commented on how they wanted to be 'better' and live as Nadine modeled in her daily walk and godly spirit. Character Building class, part of their curriculum, taught basic principles for living a good life from the Book of Proverbs! How awesome is that?!

This school is still functioning and blessing children today. Nadine learned to rebuild trust in God and allowed Him to guide her path. This path enriched the lives of families living with the devastation of loss, just as Nadine had. Don't think you're not enough to make an impact for God.

You do not have to look very far to see children in great need of some character building classes! They are all around us, following the footsteps of the Pied Piper named 'Entitlement'. Why are we as parents, grandparents, and teachers tolerating rudeness? Disrespect runs households, and kids are growing up to think the world owes them whatever they want. Aren't they in for a big surprise?

I have long believed that people rise to the level of expectation you set for them. If the bar is so low they can step over it, never challenged beyond the mindset of infancy where they are the center of the universe, there is little reason for personal, mental, spiritual, and emotional growth. It may not be very trendy for me to believe you set expectations and standards for children but I do. I believe in respecting your elders – so did Solomon when he wrote Proverbs. I believe that if an adult comes into the room and there is no place to sit, the child should relinquish his seat. I believe children should learn not to interrupt adults in a conversation. These are but a few examples that I see missing in the general populous of children today. Not all, but far too many.

Proverbs starts out with these words of instructions: Proverbs 1:-7 The proverbs of Solomon the son of David king of Israel; To know wisdom and instruction, to discern the sayings of understanding, to receive instruction in wise behavior, righteousness, justice and equity; to give prudence to the naïve, to the youth knowledge and discretion, a wise man will hear and increase in learning, and a man of understanding will acquire wise counsel, to understand a proverb and a figure, the words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.

Many of the chapters begin with words similar to "Hear, my son, your father's instructions, and do not forsake your mother's teaching…" My guess is that the multitude of rude, obnoxious, arrogant, unkind…(the list is long)…adult people out there started out as children with no one holding them accountable for their behavior, no one teaching basic good character traits and no one raising the bar above mediocrity. It may take a village to raise a child but it all starts in the hut in which they lay their head. One woman took her four-year old daughter and moved to an unknown land to offer hope, love, and godly character building to brokenhearted children in Kosovo. Imagine what we could do here if we all worked together to re-vamp the mentalities rearing American children today.