The Prepared Table

Wisdom has built her house; she has set up its seven pillars … Leave your simple ways and you will live; walk in the way of insight. Proverbs 9:1,6

The “highest point” of the city, for young people like Enzo, was the overpass above the train tracks. It was there that life happened, or rather, where life was wasted. Amidst graffiti and the noise of the train cars, they would spend their afternoons, aimless, feeding on boredom and empty dreams of easy money. Enzo, at seventeen, felt a restlessness, a desire for something more, but the inertia of the group kept him trapped. He was the “simple,” the “naive,” drifting without direction.

The invitation arrived in an unexpected way. Not from an angel, but from a “servant” in the form of a crumpled flyer he found on the bus floor. The flyer announced the opening of the “Seven Pillars Project,” an old mansion renovated by a lady everyone knew only as Mrs. Eliana.

Mrs. Eliana was Wisdom personified. A former school principal who, after retirement, invested all her time and resources to build her “house.” The “seven pillars” were the workshops she offered: academic tutoring, computer programming, music, carpentry, English, financial literacy, and vocational counseling. She had prepared her “feast,” mixed her “wine”—knowledge, dignity, hope.

“Need direction? Come on over!” the flyer said. The words seemed to speak directly to Enzo.

“Are you going to get into that, Enzo?” his friend, Cadu, scoffed when he saw the flyer. “Going to become the granny’s pet? We make our own way on the streets. It’s faster.”

Despite the mockery, a stubborn curiosity led Enzo to the mansion’s gate. He peeked through the bars. He saw young people like himself, but with a different light in their eyes, learning to fix a computer, to play the guitar. He saw the prepared table. And he felt hungry. Hungry for something the street did not offer.

With his heart pounding, he went inside.

Mrs. Eliana greeted him with a smile that was not of pity, but of expectation.

“We were waiting for you,” she said, as if it were the most natural thing in the world. “There is a place for you.”

Enzo started with the carpentry workshop. His hands, once used to holding spray paint cans, learned to handle the plane and the chisel. He discovered the joy of transforming a rough piece of wood into something useful and beautiful. He was eating the “bread” of creation, of purpose.

Next, he went to the programming class. His mind, previously anesthetized by boredom, lit up with the logic and creativity of code. He was drinking the “wine” of knowledge, of possibility.

The transformation was not just external. By talking with Mrs. Eliana and the other mentors, he learned about responsibility, integrity, and a vision for the future. He was abandoning the “folly” of an aimless life.

Months later, Cadu found him at the project’s exit. Enzo was carrying a small wooden stool he had built himself, a gift for his mother.

“Still wasting your time in there, man?” Cadu asked, but his voice held less mockery and more curiosity.

Enzo looked at his own hands, now with small calluses from work. He looked at the stool, a symbol of his transformation.

“I’m not wasting time, Cadu,” he replied, with a calmness he did not possess before. “I’m gaining a life.”

He had accepted the invitation. He had sat at Wisdom’s table and, for the first time, he felt truly nourished. Life, with all its possibilities, was just beginning.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL

The Flood

The Lord was saddened by his creation,

He saw human beings only generate devastation.

The wickedness mastered everyone.

There was no kindness in no one.

 

God decided to destroy everything,

He will send to the Earth the great flooding.

Before all this happens,

There was a servant that God desired to protect,

Noah was a man blessed by God,

God would save him and his beloved ones.

 

Build an ark. God commanded him,

And every pair of animals would come in.

So that every kind of animal will keep alive,

After the rains, they will start a new Earth and life.

 

There will not remain any human beings,

All wickedness of the Earth will be cleansed.

Until the highest mountains will be flooded.

The Earth will seem like a big lake.

 

After to happen everything,

The waters started receding.

The land could be seen again.

The hope of a new life arose in them.

 

God led them until they came out of the ark.

The promise of fidelity has been confirmed.

In gratitude, Noah sacrificed,

About that, the Lord delighted.

A new covenant with Noah was established,

Another time, this world will never be destroyed.

There will be a sign to people recognize,

How much God showed his love for their lives.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume II.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/mg5w0z

Modern Christianity

The Christian religion is modernizing,

And with its modernity comes sin.

For some people, everything is right,

But this is a deception in their minds.

 

In church, worldly doctrines are placed,

The practices of the sinners are imitated.

The pretext for this is that Jesus will be preached,

They do everything to justify wrong deeds.

 

Secular music is already used in some places,

It is no longer possible to separate it from praise.

Many churches are like musical presentations,

It is not possible to notice the Lord’s adoration.

 

Some temples are secularized,

Where the customs of sinners are practiced.

There are even pastors preaching using profanities,

People suppose it is normal, it is part of the preaching.

 

There are leaders concerned about entertaining,

They allow all to happen in church without discerning.

Many of these happenings are wrong,

For a strange gospel, the people are going on.

 

All people are led to the gospel of secularization,

A gospel based on human beings and emotions.

They are totally deviated from what Jesus said,

Going through the path that humans indicated.

On this path, there is no way to salvation,

It is the way that leads the person to condemnation.

Only the Gospel of Christ can save everyone,

Only the “old” Gospel can free each person.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume V.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/m0JKpA

Watching at the Door

Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.” Proverbs 8:33-36

The news of the company merger landed like a meteor, and the layoff list that followed was the shockwave. On it were two names, side by side: Danilo and Gilson. Both with more than fifteen years at the company, both at the peak of their careers, both with families and mortgages. Both, in the blink of an eye, unemployed.

That night, Gilson’s house was filled with the sounds of death. Not physical death, but the death of hope.

“It’s over!” he yelled at his wife, who tried to calm him. “Years of dedication thrown in the trash! They betrayed me! I hate this company; I hate this city!”

He spent the night drinking, cursing his luck, sinking into a pit of self-pity and rage. He hated the counsel that told him to be calm, to trust. To him, wisdom was a bad joke in the face of life’s brutality.

At Danilo’s house, the silence was also heavy, but it was not the silence of despair. It was the silence of pain being processed in prayer. He hugged his wife, he cried, he allowed himself to feel the weight of the blow. But in the midst of his anguish, he made a choice. He decided to “watch daily at wisdom’s doors.”

The next morning, while Gilson was still asleep, drowned in his hangover of bitterness, Danilo rose before the sun. He had no office to go to, but he created a new routine. He spent the first hour of the day reading the Bible and praying, not asking for a miraculous job, but asking for clarity, strength, and direction. He was, metaphorically, waiting at the gate for Wisdom’s entrance.

Gilson spent the following weeks immersed in his own violated soul. He rejected calls from friends, spent his days in pajamas, watching news programs that only fed his anger at the world. He became a fountain of bitterness, and his family began to distance themselves from the toxic cloud he had become. He loved the death of his own spirit.

Danilo, on the other hand, began to act. He updated his résumé. He made a list of all his skills. He called his contacts, not to complain, but to ask for advice and referrals. He enrolled in an online course to learn a new programming language. He was watching, attentive to opportunities. He did not know where help would come from, but he kept himself ready at the door.

The difference became clear in a job interview. Gilson finally got one, but his bitterness overflowed. He spoke ill of his former company, complained about the economy, and projected the energy of a victim. He did not get the job.

Danilo also faced rejections. But in every interview, he spoke of his years at the company with gratitude for what he had learned. He spoke of the future with a cautious but genuine optimism. He did not deny the difficulty of the situation, but his identity was not defined by it.

Two months later, Danilo received an offer. It was not for the same position or with the same salary as before. It was a new beginning, at a smaller company, but with a culture he admired. It was a door.

As he told his wife the news, he felt a deep joy. He had found life. Not because he had found a new job, but because, in the process, he had found a resilience he did not know he possessed. He had found peace in the midst of uncertainty. He had found the Lord’s favor, not in the form of a life without problems, but in the form of strength to get through them.

One day, he ran into Gilson at the supermarket. Gilson looked older, worn down.

“I heard about your new job,” Gilson said, with a hint of envy. “You’ve always been luckier than me.”

Danilo looked at his former colleague with compassion.

“It wasn’t luck, Gilson,” he said gently. “We were both hit by the same storm. The only difference is that, in the darkness, I decided to keep watching, waiting for the morning light. You, unfortunately, decided to close the door.”

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL

Job’s Justification

Job was going through great affliction,

The pains were so many that his heart was dying.

Some friends came to cry with him,

For many days they did not say anything.

 

After crying and being silent, Job pronounced,

The day that he was born, he cursed.

For him, there was no sense living in that way,

He thought it was better to have his last living day.

 

Something pleasant, their friends tried to say,

They tried to justify their friend’s pains.

But they could not calm down the spirit of Job.

Job spoke that he would justify himself before God.

 

Those who were with Job tried to exhort him,

But affliction did not allow him to consider anything.

Job thought that God had come to punish him,

And there will be no end to his suffering.

 

The Lord came to speak after that argumentation,

God came to hear Job’s justification.

He said that before Him there is no vindication,

God’s designs cannot be explained.

The only thing left for humans is to accept them.

 

Job’s wisdom and knowledge, the Lord questioned,

He did not reply and humiliated himself in the powder.

Job admitted that God’s will was not clear to him,

And the plans of God were not comprehended by him.

 

God ordered them to sacrifice,

They would do atonement for their lives.

Job’s affliction was eliminated by the Lord,

The wealth that Job had was doubled by God.

After that, for many days, Job lived,

Old and full of richness, he has died.

This poem is part of the book Christian Poetry Volume V.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/m0JKpA

Rest and Sin

“Not today, but tomorrow I’ll do everything,

A little rest, then, I’ll be ready for this.

Don’t hurry up, you don’t need to get concerned,

Tomorrow or later, everything will be executed.”

 

There is a serious sin in these words,

They are creating gaps to escape from work.

Those sayings exude procrastination,

They poison the mind with a sweet illusion.

 

The body is assaulted by laziness,

Working in a permanent state of slowness.

The mind gets happy about this condition,

They think this is a favorable situation.

 

The procrastinator’s life is being thrown away,

They are wasting each one of their days.

Negating the great gifts they received,

Rejecting everything that God has conceded.

 

God gave them a spectacular mind,

Infinite imaginations they can find.

The Lord gave them a majestic body,

The perfect complement for their mind.

The procrastinator dishonors their Creator,

They despise the Lord's plan and effort.

This person lives without reverence,

Acting complete and utter negligence.

 

The need for change is urgent and undeniable,

The person needs to be responsible.

Fleeing from laziness and procrastination,

Hugging the effort and dedication.

 

God will forgive and reward them,

The sources of blessings will be open.

The person will live what they never imagined,

All will take place because they worked.

 

Enormous fruits will be generated,

Marvelous miracles will be collected.

There will be no room for poverty,

They will live in abundance and prosperity.

This poem is part of the book Words of Faith.

See the book:

https://books2read.com/u/meLvPr

The Architect of the Tides

I, wisdom, dwell together with prudence; I possess knowledge and discretion … The Lord brought me forth as the first of his works, before his deeds of old … before he made the world or its fields or any of the dust of the earth … rejoicing in his whole world and delighting in mankind. Proverbs 8:12, 22, 26, 31

Master Francisco’s shipyard smelled of sea salt, wood, and eternity. Francisco, a man whose wrinkles seemed to map all the seas he had never sailed, spent his days in a slow, deliberate dance, transforming oak planks into the skeleton of a new fishing boat.

His only constant visitor was Toni, an eight-year-old boy with eyes full of whys. Toni was not interested in toys; he was interested in the order of things.

“Master Francisco,” Toni asked one day, as he watched the old craftsman fit a rib with millimeter precision. “Why does the boat float?”

Francisco did not stop his work.

“Because I designed it to, my little one. I know the weight of the wood, the strength of the water. I follow a plan. If I just put the pieces together any which way, it would sink.”

The boy was silent for a moment, processing.

“Is that why clouds float and rocks sink?” he asked.

Francisco smiled. He loved that boy’s mind.

“Exactly. God, the Great Builder, also had a plan. He established the heavens with an understanding we can only imagine. Everything in its proper place.”

Toni pointed to the sea, which was breaking rhythmically on the beach just a few meters away.

“And the sea? Why does it stop there? Why doesn’t it just keep going and swallow everything?”

Francisco put down his hammer and sat on a wooden stool, inviting the boy to sit beside him.

“Ah, that’s one of my favorite parts of the story,” the old man said. “When God designed the world, Wisdom was with Him. Like an architect, a master craftsman. She was there when He made the clouds firm above and established the fountains of the deep. And it was she who said to the sea: ‘You shall go no farther than this. Here is where your proud waves halt.’”

He spoke not like one reciting dogma, but like one sharing the secret of a great work of art.

“Wisdom is not just a bunch of rules, Toni. She is the balance. She is the design. She is the reason the world is not chaos. She delighted in the Builder’s presence, and their joy was so great that it overflowed and created everything we see.”

Toni looked at his own small hands, then at Francisco’s calloused ones.

“So, when you build the boat, are you using a little bit of that same Wisdom?”

Francisco’s eyes sparkled. The boy had understood.

“Yes, my son. That’s exactly it. Every time a carpenter chooses the right wood, every time a farmer plants in the right season, every time a mother teaches her child to be kind… we are all using a fragment of that same Architect who rejoiced with the Creator at the beginning of time. And our greatest delight,” he said, ruffling Toni’s hair, “is to see sons, like you, learning to admire her.”

Toni did not understand all the words, but he understood the feeling. He looked at the boat’s skeleton, at the sea, at the clouds. And, for the first time, he did not just see things. He saw a design. A magnificent plan, from the smallest shell on the sand to the largest star in the sky. And at the heart of that design, he felt the presence of an ancient joy, the same joy he now felt beside the old boat builder.

(Made with AI)

This story is part of my book Everyday Wisdom

https://books2read.com/u/3knogL