Today I went to church. Lily maintained she was ill with a serious tummy ache and I am not in a mood to deal with melodrama well, so she stayed at home and I took Joe. I struggled with the crowds of faces, songs, concentrating and going up for communion, but I wasn’t alone in that. Utterly reassuring to feel the quiet support of friends and to suffer together. To be able to giggle at the back, allow my son (still in overnight donkey-wear) to stretch his legs and climb under things and to know that there is a new rhythm of hope starting.
December winded me and January wants to kick me while I’m still down, but this year will not be a year for introspection and self-pity. On finding a beautiful idea for resolutions, I have decided on a one-word goal. Something positive. To lift my thoughts, bless my family, discern our move. My word for 2014 is Passion. I have a passion for my husband, our children, for doing the right thing, for the move, for Old Testament studies, for lego, for healing and ultimately for Jesus. This year I want to learn more passionately and live more passionately, looking outward as I take the lessons of Grace on board more and more.
Our church has a Bible passage for each year, and this year the deacons have chosen Proverbs 2:1-6. It is about the search for wisdom and the fear of the Lord (as with much of the book of Proverbs). It is written in an ancient style, rather like the kind of case law you might read in the Code of Hammurabi, but also looks similar to computer code.
IF (my words) and (my commands) AND IF (seek insight) and (seek understanding)
THEN (understanding, knowledge)
ENDIF
There is also some nice chiasmus in verses 5 and 6:
Understanding
Knowledge
Wisdom
Knowledge
Understanding
6 For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
The ELSEIF is dealt with later in the chapter. But going to church lifted me in terms of feeling united with a group who care and because one of the leaders mentioned that we should have passion in our study of the Bible today. Which is exactly what I needed to hear.
jam and giraffes 
What an interesting way of looking at scripture! I’d never heard of chiasmus before, but having looked it up I can recognise it in a few places. Thank you for educating me 🙂 And your son is adorable as a donkey!
chiasmus is one of my favourite things about studying OT narrative art – it’s all over the place! even on a big scale if you look at early Gen and late Rev. thank you!