And maybe that’s where wisdom begins.
I thought I was wise at 25.
At 30, I was even more sure of it.
Then 40 came, and I started questioning just how wise I really was.
By 50, I felt like I knew very little.
And now at 60? I still don’t feel all that wise, yet somehow I feel like wisdom is following closely behind me because God has become my foundation.
Maybe that is part of growing older. We gain wisdom through years of living—the ups and downs, failures and successes, dreams and tragedies. Every experience teaches us something, even when we don’t realize it at the time.
And as the years go by, something interesting happens: we begin to realize how much we don’t know. Maybe that realization is wisdom itself.
Gray hair is a crown of glory; it is gained by living a godly life.
— Proverbs 16:31 NLT
The glory of the young is their strength; the gray hair of experience is the splendor of the old.
— Proverbs 20:29 NLT
I love those verses because they remind me that growing older is not something to dread. There is beauty in experience, value in the lessons we’ve learned, and wisdom in knowing when to speak—and when not to.
Being humble as we grow older may be one of the greatest signs of wisdom. We learn to keep our mouth closed when it needs to stay closed, speak words of love and encouragement when they are needed, and speak truth with kindness.
We also become less afraid to say what is in our hearts when we know we are standing firmly on God’s Word. The Bible is filled with wisdom, and the more of God’s truth we place in our hearts and minds, the more we have to draw from when life gets complicated.
Wisdom isn’t having every answer. It is knowing where to go when we don’t have the answer.
And for me, that place is God.
As I grow older, I also think more about the generations coming behind me. What will they remember? What words will stay with them? What lessons from my life might help them in theirs?
Living a long life with truth in our minds, faith in our hearts, and as much health as God allows gives us something precious—the opportunity to pass wisdom on. Not with lectures, and not by pretending we know everything, but with love, kindness, truth, and the lessons we learned along the way.
What more could we ask for than to live the best we can with God as our foundation and leave behind words that settle into someone else’s heart? Words that may one day be passed on to another generation.
Now that is wisdom.
A Simple Next Step
Take a few quiet minutes this week and ask yourself:
What has life taught me that is worth passing on?
Write down one lesson God has taught you through the years. Then think of one person—a daughter, granddaughter, friend, younger woman, or someone God has placed in your life—who may need that wisdom.
Share it simply. Share it kindly. Share it when the time is right.
Because the wisdom God has grown in you may be exactly what someone else needs.
