My focus of study for this month was the Old Testament book of Leviticus. As I neared its end and read the story of Shelomith, I began to think of the many women in the Bible who had to live through the consequences of unwise decisions of their loved ones. We were not given the details of how they were affected, but we know that they were affected nonetheless.
Here is a poem that I came across a few years ago which forced me to think of my sisters from Biblical days in a new light, Two Mothers.
TWO MOTHERS
Long time ago, so I have been told,
Two angels once met on streets paved with gold.
“By the stars in your crown,” said the one to the other
“I see that on earth, you too, were a mother.
And by, the blue-tinted halo you wear
“You, too, have known sorrow and deepest despair…”
“Ah yes,” she replied, “I once had a son,
A sweet little lad, full of laughter and fun.”
“But tell of your child.” “Oh, I knew I was blessed
From the moment I first held him close to my breast,
And my heart almost burst with the joy of that day.”
“Ah, yes,” said the other, “I felt the same way.”
The former continued: “The first steps he took-
So eager and breathless; the sweet startled look
Which came over his face – he trusted me so.”
“Ah, yes,” said the other, “How well do I know”
“But soon he had grown to a tall handsome boy,
So stalwart and kind – and it gave me so much joy
To have him just walk down the street by my side”
“Ah yes, “said the other mother,
“I felt the same pride.”
“How often I shielded and spared him from pain
And when he for others was so cruelly slain.
When they crucified him – and they spat in his face
How gladly would I have hung there in his place!”
A moment of silence – “Oh then you are she –
The mother of Christ”; and she fell on one knee.
But the Blessed one raised her up, drawing her near,
And kissed from the cheek of the woman, a tear.
“Tell me the name of the son you love so,
That I may share with your grief and your woe.”
She lifted her eyes, looking straight at the other,
“He was Judas Iscariot: I am his mother.”
Author Unknown
As ezerwatchers, we are connected so strongly to those to whom we have been assigned to “help” that there are times when their decisions and actions pierce us in ways which seems so hard to bear. What do we do then? From where can we find help? To whom do we go for comfort and relief from the pain?
Hebrews 12:2-3 (NIV) states “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. 3 Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.”
This is how The Message Bible paraphrases these verses: “Keep your eyes on Jesus, who both began and finished this race we’re in. Study how he did it. Because he never lost sight of where he was headed—that exhilarating finish in and with God—he could put up with anything along the way: Cross, shame, whatever. And now he’s there, in the place of honor, right alongside God. When you find yourselves flagging in your faith, go over that story again, item by item, that long litany of hostility he plowed through. That will shoot adrenaline into your souls!”
My dear sisters, today I agree with you in prayer that your faith will not fail.
I declare that you will not drown under the heaviness of sorrows brought on by loss.
You will not be overcome by any evil, but you will walk as you are – more than a conqueror through Him that loves you.
Receive the strength of God this day!
Receive grace for the journey!
Know that you are NOT alone!
You are making it and will make it to the end!
DIG DEEPER:
1. Devotional – Shelomith