Being an Anna

Last week I finished Mark and started reading Luke. The beginning of Luke is probably one of the more familiar passages in the Bible because it's got the really bang-up Christmas story--you know the one with the decree going out Caesar Augustus and all--so I was reading along slightly disengaged. You get through the shepherds and get to the part where Mary and Joseph take Jesus to the temple. You read about Simeon, who had been waiting years for Christ to be born, which is also a pretty familiar story for people like me who grew up in church. And if you're one of those people, you also know what comes next--Jesus stays in the temple, His parents think He's lost, and they find Him talking to the teachers.

In light of all that, I was a little surprised to happen across three verses I can't remember really reading before, which is odd considering how many times I have read the stories that come right before and right after them. The verses are Luke 2:36-38. They tell the story of a prophetess named Anna. (And no, if you're thinking back to the title, I'm not about to reveal the fact that I'm prophetic...although that would be kind of cool if it were true.) Here's what Luke wrote about her:

"She was advanced in years, having lived with her husband seven years from when she was a virgin, and then as a widow until she was eighty-four. She did not depart from the temple, worshipping with fasting and prayer night and day. And coming up at that very hour she began to give thanks to God and to speak of him to all who were waiting for the redemption of Jerusalem."

Per the footnote in my Bible, some translations say that Anna had been a widow for eighty-four years. Whichever way, I think it's safe to say that Anna had been a single lady for quite some time. Anna's single life was a life devoted to worship and prayer. And then it became a life devoted to thanking God and sharing Him with others.

After reading her story, I had two thoughts. First, what a beautiful role model for me as a single lady myself. Like Anna, I have the freedom to be totally devoted to the Lord, to worshipping Him, to praising Him, to sharing Him. (Not that my married friends with husbands and children can't have lives like that too--I just mean that I get to choose how I spend all my time. If Anna had a husband and children, she wouldn't have been able to stay in the temple all the time.) Second, I felt convicted because my life doesn't look like that. I'm not someone who is totally devoted to the Lord. I don't always use my time to serve Him well.

So my goal for this week is to be thankful for Anna and the example she set and to be more aware of how I use my time and look for ways to serve God better with the time and the gift of singleness He has given me!