A couple weeks ago, I was speaking with someone and we asked each other the question, “If you could go back and meet the 12 year old version of yourself and give them some piece of advice, what would it be?”. This wasn’t my answer, but after having some time to mull around the question in my head, I think this answer may by on the list of things I’d want to say.
Proverbs 1:8-9:
Hear, my son, your father’s instruction,
and forsake not your mother’s teaching,
for they are a graceful garland for your head
and pendants for your neck.
If I could meet the 12 year old version of myself and remind him of something, or advise him in some way, I would want to tell him that his parents are on his side. That his parents are on his team, so to speak.
As a kid (and in some ways, as a parent too), it’s easy to feel like the adult authority in your life is an opposing force. That it needs to be circumvented to really enjoy the things you want to enjoy. Kind of how a lot of people have a similar view of the police. This force isn’t benevolent, or acting in your best interest. But rather a challenging ‘obstacle’ in the grand game of life.
This isn’t so, but it’s not something we typically learn until we’re older. But, as Solomon teaches, it is wisdom and prudence to learn this young. To appreciate this ‘pendant for your neck’, rather than resist it.
