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Helping families to be attentive to God and one another
Perseverance in Attentiveness
I'm writing this with the sounds of Christmas carols filtering down from upstairs as the children are now probably fast asleep. Christmas time is a time when perhaps the schedules are so full there is little time for reflection and attentiveness to God.
However, the Christmas Story as told by Luke, gives us an excellent example of someone who through perseverance, cultivated a her attentiveness to God's activity in her world.
The person is Anna, the prophetess. Her family situation was one filled with heartaches. In only her seventh year of marriage, Anna suffered the tremendous pain of the death of her husband. In that pain, she allowed the pain to draw herself to God.
Luke tells us that she began to go to the temple day and night to worship, pray and fast. How long did she do this? Luke sort of implies that the answer is about 84 years. Wow! Eighty Four years of persevering in her worship and growing in her relationship with her Heavenly Father. During these 84 years, she was cultivating her sense of attentiveness to God.
No wonder, she is one of two people in the temple, that recognize Mary's and Joseph's little baby boy as not only the Redeemer of Jerusalem but the Savior of the World.
Anna gives us an example of how we can grow in our attentiveness to God - as individuals and families. In a word - Perseverance.
May you persevere in practicing the presence of God in your family this Christmas season as you follow the example of Anna.
Bob Zook
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