By wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches (Proverbs 24:3).

As I write this, I’m sitting at my daughter’s kitchen counter. The house is quiet; no one else is awake. I look around at the sweet home two of my grandchildren are growing up in and reflect on how blessed we are as a family. My other three grandchildren come to mind. Being six hours ahead, their home is filled with noisy chatter; perhaps they are gathered around their kitchen table eating lunch together.

How true it is. A house built on wisdom is filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

That verse – Proverbs 24:3 – was written on one of the first pictures I bought as a young mother myself attending a “Home Interiors” party. Remember those days? Tupperware and Princess House and Home Interiors parties were so much a part of how we collected the necessary (and not so necessary) things we wanted to fill up our homes. You would host a party and invite all your friends to earn free merchandise. In return, you got invited to all their parties. We could have just all gone to the store instead of buying from one another, but that was half the fun.

That picture hung in our house until we moved out after our daughters were grown and on their own. It brought me joy every time I read it, because I had experienced it personally.

Let’s be reminded…what is wisdom? What is understanding? What is knowledge?

Proverbs 9:10 – The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is understanding.

Proverbs 2:6 – For the Lord gives wisdom; from His mouth come knowledge and understanding.

Colossians 1:9 – For this reason also, since the day we heard of it, we have not ceased to pray for you and to ask that you may be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding.

Wisdom is the fear of the Lord.

Knowledge is the knowledge of the Holy One (God).

Understanding is knowing and doing His will, as found in His word.

My own parents taught me these truths and I saw it exemplified in their lives – in the home in which I grew up. We didn’t have much in the way of material goods. Although I never felt poor or had needs that weren’t met, I didn’t realize how very rich we were. My dad worked hard at a blue-collar job. He was frugal to the extreme but generous in so many other ways. We ate organic, grass-fed beef, not from Whole Foods or Fresh Market, but from my dad’s hard work to feed and care for a few head of cattle each year. We ate fresh, seasonal organic vegetables, not from the Co-Op or Farmer’s Market, but because we had a huge garden that we all worked in from spring to fall, and enjoyed its bounty all winter because my mom canned and froze the abundance. I wore hand-me-downs but was never cold. I had a hot bath every day and went to bed tucked in clean sheets and warm blankets. I never worried that my dad would come home drunk or high. I always fell asleep feeling safe and loved and woke up to the sounds of my mom fixing breakfast for us all.

I never knew depression or anxiety existed; I’ve never really been afraid (except when my elementary school terrified us all with those awful movies on what to do if there’s a fire!). We never experienced alcoholism, drug addiction, or abuse. I never doubted or questioned my identity; I was taught, and believed, that God created me, and that He loved me so much He died for me. I was led to understand salvation and knew the Bible was true, that God had a plan and a purpose, and that obedience to His ways would bring blessing.

It is these same truths that we fought daily to instill in our own daughters, and I don’t even have words to express the pure joy in our hearts as we see them being passed down to our grandchildren.

Of course, my childhood family and the family that’s been created since I grew up and married have had our moments. We’re not perfect. We sin. We get angry at times. We experience frustration. We have bills that come due and wants that sometimes are not met.

But I can testify to this truth…By wisdom [the fear of the Lord] a house is built, and by understanding [the knowledge of the Holy One] it is established, and by knowledge [of the will and word of God] the rooms are filled with all precious and pleasant riches.

In a few minutes, two of those little precious riches will make their way down the stairs and be looking for the blueberry muffins their mom instructed me to make, so I’ll just leave you to ponder this question.

How is your house built? On what foundation is it laid? God promises blessing if we build it His way. His ways work, and no other way will do.