The Wisdom of Widows

By Allen Harris

Insight and respect are often dressed in gray hair with aching joints. Have you found this treasure of knowledge in your life?

Lucille Wear is 87 years old, and if you were to ask her how she's feeling, she'd probably reply—with a charming dose of classic southern wit—"Well, how do you think? I feel eighty-sev'n years old!" Her joints aren't as comfortable as they once were, her muscles not as strong. Yet, it isn't the power of her body that has carried her ever forward these nine decades. It's the size of her spirit.

Lucille is a living testament to the strength of an active, mature faith—active from its regular daily exercise, and mature from the turmoil and terrors that have tested it over the years. Hers is not an untried faith, but one that has borne the full weight of the Lord's purifying fire and emerged as a shimmering jewel before the King. 

Widowed at age 27 with one young child and another on the way, and then again at age 69 when heading into what should have been her golden years with her second husband, Lucille has lived two-thirds of her life with the memories of lost love. She has buried two husbands. A relative newlywed myself, I cannot even begin to imagine the strength and courage required to part with my partner and best friend. But she did it with grace and dignity. Twice.

Lucille has wrestled cancer into submission on two separate occasions. She emerged from the Depression era as a competent, intelligent, and successful worker. She has experienced the loss of many friends and loved ones, while rejoicing at the birth of seven grandchildren and four great-grandchildren. And I can give you my personal guarantee: she's a fabulous grandmother.

She watches baseball games on television, bakes outstanding oatmeal chocolate chip pecan cookies (no raisins, thank you very much), and hates losing card games and dominoes. She keeps an eternally full candy dish on her coffee table, sitting beside stacks of photo albums that seem to make the rounds at every visit. She speaks freely about "the Lord" and always keeps her Bible and In Touch devotional within arm's reach.

Lucille has demonstrated a tried and true faith before her full quiver of children, and she has exemplified godly womanhood to all who know her. When she speaks, people listen. When she tells stories of the past, you can instantly picture the scene. When she talks of Scripture, faith, eternal life, and Jesus... you just know you want to spend time with her in eternity.

It is while thinking of Lucille's sweet, crooked smile and slow, deliberate movements that I now read the Christmas story once again. Sadly, many holiday readers close the cover on Luke's Gospel after Luke 2:20, content to end their nativity dreams with the image of shepherds' praise. However, if you were to push forward just a bit, into verse 21 and beyond, you would discover—perhaps for the first time—a woman of faith who adds so much more to the story! And she does it with the marked air of maturity that comes only with years, prayer, and experience.

A Devoted Life

Anna is introduced in Luke 2:36, immediately after Joseph and Mary's prophetic encounter with the aged Simeon at the temple courts. She is unequivocally given the title of "prophetess," a distinctive not often used during that period in history. God's people had lived through 400 years of silence, prophecy had come to an end, and the children of God were yearning for a fresh word. Then, as the infant Christ burst onto the scene, glimmers of hope began to pierce the shroud of silence. God had begun to speak once again.

And isn't it interesting that He did not reveal Himself through the rich and powerful leaders? Instead, He spoke through shepherds, nomads, and now through a seemingly insignificant older woman. God chose to speak through those who most wanted to hear from Him. The rulers were content with their traditions, but the meek and the wise were looking for new life. 

The life Anna lived, we are told, had not been an easy one. She had lived with her husband for only seven years before losingm him, and she never remarried. Instead, at that young age, this widow committed herself fully to her heavenly Bridegroom, choosing instead to live in His house and attend to His business. When Joseph and Mary came into her presence, Anna's youth was long past. A matronly woman of 84, she approached them with careful steps, carried on knees hardened by six decades of daily, persistent prayer.

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A Well-Respected Voice

If you look closely at Luke's account of Simeon and Anna, a peculiar difference becomes evident. Simeon, described as "righteous and devout" (Luke 2:25), spoke words of thanksgiving to God and of prophecy and blessing to Joseph and Mary. However, it is Anna who specifically addressed the crowd of people around the Temple.

It is not clear how many people heard Simeon's discourse, but Anna's prophecy went out "to all those who were looking for the redemption of Jerusalem" (Luke 2:38, emphasis added). Furthermore, Simeon declared that he was ready to die, having seen the Savior (Luke 2:29). Anna, however, still had work to do. Scripture reveals how, even after this encounter, Anna "continued to speak of Him" to anyone who would listen (Luke 2:38). And they did listen, as all who knew Anna recognized she was guided not by personal ambition or emotional flare, but by the very Spirit of God, with whom she had become intimately acquainted through a lifetime of prayer and devotion.

The Wisdom of Widows

I cannot read the story of Anna without thinking of my own grandmother, Lucille. Surely, these godly widows have something to say to the impatient, instant-gratification culture in which we live. This world wants knowledge at the click of a mouse, judgment dispensed quickly in courthouses, and immediate respect that is not earned. I believe Anna and Lucille would scoff at that.

These ladies know that wisdom takes time... and loss. They portray the truth in the apostle James' words: "Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing" (James 1:2-4).

While the modern world struggles against it, the truth is that wisdom, insight, and respect are often dressed in gray hair with aching joints. I wonder how much wisdom is sitting near you right now. What tender, age-laced voice in your life is empowered by a lifetime of prayer?

You no doubt encounter many fine, older Christian ladies in your church, community, and maybe even your own home. Do not miss the opportunity to simply sit with them and listen. Their words could lead to laughter, or to tears. You may find a solution to today's problem in their stories of yesteryear. Before I headed home for Christmas recently, I was certain of one thing: I'm sure to be amazed by something I hear come out of my own grandmother's mouth! I listen for it every time I see her.

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