Charm is deceptive and beauty disappears, but a woman who honors the Lord should be praised. Give her credit for all she does. She deserves the respect of everyone. [Proverbs 31:30-31 (GNT)]
My mother disliked having her picture taken. She didn’t think of herself as attractive and she probably wasn’t pretty in the conventional way. Yet, even with a face covered by freckles, unruly hair, an overbite combined with a toothy smile, thick glasses and a hearing aid, she was the most beautiful woman I’ve known.
It was at my mother’s side that I learned to love the written word. She urged me to read all sorts of books that were probably considered far too adult for my age and we discussed every one of them in detail. She was intelligent and creative and encouraged me in every one of my efforts. She was incredibly open with me about her past, her faith and feelings. Perhaps she knew her time on earth was brief so she had to pack everything a mother wants to teach her daughter into a few short years. It was from my mother that I learned about love and forgiveness. She showed me that true love takes effort and is more a choice than a feeling. She started me on my journey of faith and it was through her that I came to know Jesus.
This shy quiet woman taught me courage: courage in the face of adversity, courage in the face of cancer, courage in the face of death. She taught me how to live and how to die. She was probably the most beautiful when she was the least attractive, just a few days before her death, when I was fifteen. As we were departing her hospital room, my father leaned over, picked up a corner of the oxygen tent, and kissed her. He said, “You look like an angel tonight.” Her response, said with a smile on her radiant face, was, “Maybe tomorrow I’ll be with the angels.” As she passed through the valley of death, she had no fear. She had complete faith in God’s promise. She wasn’t worried; she trusted God that the family she left behind would be just fine and she knew that where she was going would be even better. She may not have been pretty but my mother was the most beautiful woman in my world.
On this special day, Dear Lord, we thank you for our mothers: those beautiful women who gave us life. We also thank you for all of the beautiful women of faith who have blessed our lives with their example and encouragement, enlightenment, love, and guidance. Please reassure them that, in spite of what the mirror and society may tell them, they are truly beautiful both in your eyes and ours!
Imagine the anguish of the woman with the blood disorder. Because Levitical law declared that anyone who touched her would be considered unclean, she’d been cut off from friends and family for twelve years. Sexual union would defile her husband so she couldn’t marry and, if she’d been married, her husband would have divorced her. Because her defilement would spread to anything she touched (be it food, cups or cushions), she was isolated in her own home. While the anemia, pain, stress, and public humiliation she endured because of her disorder must have been awful, perhaps the agony of being a pariah and unable to physically connect with people was even worse. It was her responsibility to make sure she didn’t defile others by touching them so she shouldn’t have been anywhere near a crowd. She certainly shouldn’t have touched a man (or his clothing) and could have been severely punished for her previously action. No wonder she tried to sneak unnoticed through the crowd to touch Jesus’ robe.
Hurricane Irma did quite a number on our southwest Florida bird sanctuary. Unfortunately, much of the boardwalk was damaged (some of it beyond repair) and there were several casualties among the trees, including two 100-foot cypress trees that proudly stood for over 400 years. Like them, many smaller trees were uprooted and now lie dead on the forest floor. Irma’s high winds did some violent and cruel pruning as it stripped bark, tore off branches, and splintered mature trees as if they were mere matchsticks. Cypress trees that were over 40-feet tall are now little more than stumps. Nevertheless, trees I thought were goners are recovering and greening up; new foliage is emerging out of their fractured tops and sides. In spite of the incredible damage they suffered, their roots still support and feed them with life giving water and they’re surviving. They may be down but they’re certainly not out.
They [the Pharisees] asked him, “Why do your disciples disobey our age-old tradition? For they ignore our tradition of ceremonial hand washing before they eat.” Jesus replied, “And why do you, by your traditions, violate the direct commandments of God?” [Matthew 15:1b-3 (NLT)]
Last month, my husband and I attended a “Sweetheart” dinner at church. The men were in charge of the entire event and there were a few rough spots in the night. Then again, at the risk of being accused of political incorrectness or gender bias, most of the men probably were novices at that kind of event planning. Unlike the men, we women have had decades of organizing (and attending) school parties, PTA fund raisers, charity galas, birthday parties, showers, weddings, anniversary bashes, and other assorted celebrations. In spite of the glitches, there was much that went right and the evening was enjoyable and entertaining. Unfortunately, the woman sitting beside me kept criticizing how things were done—from name tags and table assignments to flowers and dessert. Her nit-picking comments became as annoying as the yapping of a bad-tempered dog and I thought of a bumper sticker I’d recently seen: “Wag More, Bark Less!”
I have told all your people about your justice. I have not been afraid to speak out, as you, O Lord, well know. I have not kept the good news of your justice hidden in my heart; I have talked about your faithfulness and saving power. I have told everyone in the great assembly of your unfailing love and faithfulness. [Psalm 40:9-10 (NLT)]
Devotions of the Heart 