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Greetings,

You wont see her name in Zimbio Online or People Magazines, but this woman received one of the most unique and rare privileges that has been afforded to people:  She got to see the baby Jesus as he was presented in the Temple and dedicated to God (his Father) and speak some very insightful and helpful words to his parents (Mary and Joseph, Luke 2:36+).  So what is the big deal?  What’s the woop?
An old lady fritters away her time fasting and saying prayers – who cares?  What has that got to do with me?  She had nothing better to do – right?  Well, I am not so sure.  Her name is Anna, she was married for seven years until her husband died, and she then spent the rest of her life until she was 84, living in the Temple, serving the Lord!  If she was 20 when married, and 27 when her husband died, that is 57 years!!!!!!!  I cannot help but wonder if she was not a devotee of the great Psalm 27 that we are considering:

4One thing have I desired of the LORD,

       that will I seek after;

       that I may dwell in the house of the LORD

       all the days of my life,

       to behold the beauty of the LORD,

       and to enquire in his temple.


To keep this short, I will derive a simple observation and a simple comparison.  I believe that Anna’s life was one of progressive OBSERVATION and RESPONSE (INSPIRATION followed by CHOICE) seasoned with lots of GRACE.  A cycle repeated MANY times I am sure as her life progressed from that of incredible disappointment with life (and possibly God) to that of a mature beautiful woman who graced God with her devotion and worship.  I hardly believe this birth story of our Savior which represents a string of many incredible miracles would be sullied by some old, lame, nagging, complaining lady hanging around the Temple courts because she had no choice?!?!

On a typical day, I will start work with enthusiasm and by 7:30 I am often hungry for something salty.  I love the days when Sara packs me some cheese crackers.  I’ll eat three or four, and faithfully put the container away (saving the rest for lunch).  Then within 3 minutes (if that long), I have the container open for a few more.  And on it goes!

So what does this have to do with the beauty of the Lord?  He satisfies the thirsty and provides food for the hungry (Psalm 107:5,6).  He did this for Anna, he did this for Jesus, and he does this for me – but he doesn’t do it all at once, but over time, managing it for me (us, if we will let him).  Imagine where I would be if he gave me my 5 year allotment of cheese crackers all in one day!  As I go to the slippery slopes of no control over and over, I begin to appreciate His care and provision – a caring provision that moves me from the cheese cracker ‘holic’ to the poised person like Anna who takes delight in self denial (fasting) and lavishes Him with her devotion!  It is a slow transition, OBSERVATION and RESPONSE (INSPIRATION followed by CHOICE) seasoned with lots of GRACE.

Have a great day!
Dale



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    Author

    My name is Dale Petersen.  I love life, photography, art, music, and pizza.  I enjoy writing poetry, and I love to contemplate.  I like to encourage people in their faith journeys, and I am told that my writing has helped some friends and I have been encouraged to blog.

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