Thank God: For Wisdom

Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. James 3:13

This was part of our reading at St Matthias Church last Sunday morning, and the basis of the brilliant sermon given by our Minister, Rev. John Beckett.

I wrote, last week, about thanking God For Your Healing Hands, and the way in which he led me to faith through the 'wisdom' of a neighbour, Michael Cole, who came to pray with me when my daughter was close to death. Thankfully, his wife - my best friend ever, Stephanie Cole - showed wisdom in my life, many years later.

THEN . . .

At my husband's insistence, we'd moved many miles away and, I'd joined the local church, where I became Sunday School Superintendent, and a member of the PCC (Parochial Church Council). Soon afterwards, due to years of my husband's adultery and physical violence, my marriage came to an end. Suddenly, I became a pariah in church. I was left to sit alone, and no one wanted to know me any more. Hurt and bewildered, I wrote to Stephanie.

'You must send this letter to the Church of England Newspaper,' she said. 'People need to read it and understand what you've been through.'

Due to her wisdom, I did so and, as a result, I was approached by a publisher. Refusing, at first, to go ahead, I eventually agreed and was commissioned to write my first two books, under the pen name, Meg Scott. The first, titled The Tug of Two Loves, told the story of my marriage, and the way in which my having come to faith had alienated my husband. The second, Divorced But Not Defeated showed how the Lord led me through the years of trauma that followed.

This being before the days of the internet, I received letters – via my publishers – from all over the world, most telling me what a huge help the books had been to those going through similar circumstances, and that they had 'never read anything so open and honest'.

. . . AND NOW

We are told that our deeds should be done in the humility that comes from wisdom, and not from selfish ambition. However, modesty could be an obstruction to us all. I have to say, I still find it incredibly humbling to know that the 'deeds I had done in humility' – published because of the wisdom of my friend – were used by God to bring further wisdom and help to my readers.

So if you have a story to tell, and would like to share it with others, do let me know, and I'd be delighted to publish it on my website.

“Four things characterise a genuine testimony… it must be true… it is often costly… it must be relevant… it must be powerful. Meg Scott’s remarkable story is one of inner conflict and perseverance to grasp the realities of God’s promises in her life. It is a testimony filled with power….” Canon Michael Cole

Thank you for sharing yourself and the treasures God has given you out of your darkness and hurt . . . the lessons you share are for us all. Dr Anne Townsend, former Director of CARE Trust and former Editor of Family Magazine.