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One of the things Jamaicans often say in sticky situations is ‘ole people used to seh…’ This is often times in reference to proverbs older Jamaicans would always say and there is much wisdom to be drawn from these proverbs as they proved their relevance over and over again.  Further, one Jamaican who understood the value of ‘ole time Jamaican people sayings’ or proverbs, was Jamaican folklorist Louise Bennett-Coverley or as Jamaicans affectionately call her “Miss Lou”.  Miss Lou is credited for educating the world about the colorful Jamaican language, Patois. She will forever remain a prominent Jamaican icon whom Jamaican parents would reference while passing on the island’s traditions, beliefs, and language to their children, serving as a compass to help them navigate life’s challenges. So let’s keep it going, here are 10 Jamaican proverbs Miss Lou used that you need in your life.

When trouble tek man, pickney boot fit him!– When a man meets on hard times, he will even fit in a child’s shoe.  This means when things get hard, even the impossible becomes possible.

Teck kin-teet kibba heart bun– Take smiles to cover heart burn. This means even when you are in hard times, still keep smiling.

Dark night got peeny-wally –  Even dark nights have fire-flies. In other words, even when things seem hopeless there will always be a silver lining

Nuh care how long hog try fi hide undah sheep wool him grunt always betray him – It doesn’t matter how long a pig tries to ide under the wool of a sheep his grunt will always ruin his disguise. This means that people can frequently pretend to be something different from their true selves, yet their words will consistently reveal their genuine nature.

Suh cow a grow suh nose hole open -As a cow grows, his nostrils become larger. In other words, as you develop, your experience, knowledge, and understanding also expand and mature.

Ano evry mango ave maggige – Not every mango has maggots. The idea is that there are kind-hearted individuals among us as well.

Walk good an good duppy walk with you -Take care as you go and may good spirits keep you company. The idea here is that if you engage in positive actions, the spirits of good people will watch over you.

Annu evry keen teet a laugh– Not every grin is a laugh. This means that not everyone who appears friendly to you is truly your friend.

Mawga cow a bull muma- a meager cow is a bull’s mother – Never judge a book by its cover a lowly person can have strong connections in high places.

Ole ooman a swear fi nyam peppa pot and it a swear fi hot har belly– Old women really wants a pepper pot (salted mango) but the pepper pot really wants to give her a tummy ache. This means that what you really want to do might end up causing you harm in the future.

Hopefully, you find these useful and pass them down to your children, who can then pass them to their children, and so on.

And remember, walk good!

The post 10 Jamaican Proverbs Miss Lou Used That You Need in Your Life appeared first on Jamaicans.com.

I always go back to the beginning of time whenever I counsel men on leadership in marriage.  There is a big confusion in the roles that husband and wife play in the marriage relationship.  Even worse there is quite a bit of role reversal causing a lot of marriages to end in divorce.   Husbands are confusing leadership with rulership and there is a BIG difference.  Wives are confusing submission with being a doormat.  Even worse, in speaking with couples, some husbands really treat their wives like doormats.

Wives end up rebelling against the leadership of their husbands from fear of being treated like slaves, while husbands refuse to lead anymore because of rebellion from wives.  In one of my recent discussion with a married couple, I got a clear picture of this very crazy cycle in their marriage and I knew it was the root cause of the problem in the marriage.  The wife refused to allow her husband to take the lead and the husband complained that the wife refuses to allow him to take the lead.  They were at odds end and were on the brink of unnecessary divorce.  I asked them one question which had them thinking real hard and it was that question that saved their marriage.  “Do you both know the problem with the first marriage that ever happened?”  I asked.  They knew the issues with that marriage but did not clearly understand the problem so I spent the time explaining.

God created Adam and said it was not good for him to be alone so God created Eve from the rib of Adam to give him a suitable helper and companion.  The husband and wife both looked at me as if to ask where I was going with the explanation.  I cut right to the chase.  “God commanded Adam and Eve not to eat from a certain tree in the Garden and because of these three choices their marriage suffered greatly and so are many marriages even today.”  This truth opened up their eyes to realizing they were having an Adam and Eve experience in their own marriage.   You can have a great marriage when you avoid these three marriage mistakes….

Disobedience to the One Who Created Marriage

God created marriage with rules.  Just as Adam and Eve did not follow the rule God gave them and experienced unnecessary pain in their relationship, you will continue to have that same experience of problems in your marriage if you fail to obey the rules of marriage given to you by God.  Try your utmost best to follow God’s direction for marriage and you will have a great marriage filled with love, joy, peace and harmony.  The closer your relationship with God, the closer your relationship with your spouse.  This closeness is found only in obeying God in your marriage relationship.

Lack of Submission

When a wife submits to her husband she is not bowing down to him.  She is actually bowing down to God himself in the sense of obeying God by allowing her husband to lead her spiritually.  Eve took the lead and mistakenly gave into disobeying God and caused disaster in that first marriage relationship.  This was the same issue with the wife I mentioned above.  Wives actually benefit much more from allowing their husbands to take the lead because God created the husband to take the lead.  There is no need to fear being submissive because God will not allow an obedient wife to be taken advantage of constantly by a husband who is not leading but ruling.

Lack of Leadership

When a husband operates out of an Adam mentality he is held accountable in the marriage greatly.  When Eve took the fruit she ate it out of disobedience to God and gave it to Adam to eat also.  As a leader, Adam should have stopped it but instead he ate it also.  In speaking with men today I realize that there is such a lack of leadership.  A lot of men are missing from their leadership position in the homes and are causing the wives to be forced into leadership roles.  Marriage relationships will never be lived out the way God intended when husbands choose to give up on their God given role of leadership in the home.  Men need to realize that leaders will always be challenged and rebelled against at times but it is not a reason to give up that position of spiritual leadership.  Husbands must remember who is leading them when they allow Him to so that they can effectively lead their families.