|
Over the years the Lord has placed many widows in our church families who have taught my family the shape of godliness. This week I encourage you to lean in and listen to some of the most vulnerable and voiceless members of our congregations—widows. Today I honor Martha, Barbara, Faith, Pam, Susan, and my own mom who became a widow this year. They have shown me the length and breadth of these ten spiritual virtues in their grief.
1. Wisdom—They taught me what it looks like to walk in wisdom into the many unknowns. I am still learning that wisdom is not merely knowledge acquired, but rather knowledge applied.
“If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask God, who gives generously to all without reproach, and it will be given him” (James 1:5).
2. Contentment—They have embodied what godliness coupled with contentment looks like and how it is not only gain for today but for eternity. Their daily dependence shows His grace is sufficient for the challenges of navigating widowhood.
“But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6).
3. Fruit of the Spirit—In the highest of highs and the lowest of lows it becomes apparent whether we are walking in the flesh or walking in the Spirit. I have seen this fruit of the Spirit in the words and deeds of widows.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law” (Galatians 5:22-23).
4. Hope—While all of us long for hope, we rarely rejoice in knowing that the pathway to it is wrought with suffering. I have seen in them the gift from God in the midst of this: endurance, character, and hope.
“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:3-5).
5. Forgiveness—Death brings the realities of the brokenness of this world and relationships into focus. In this grace-fueled perspective, I have watched them forgive others out of the overflow of their thankfulness for Christ’s forgiveness.
“Bearing with one another and, if one has a complaint against another, forgiving each other; as the Lord has forgiven you, so you also must forgive” (Colossians 3:13).
6. Living in Light of Eternity—Temporal grief never feels light and momentary, but I have watched them lift their eyes towards eternity and seek by faith to live in light of eternity.
“So, we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:16-18).
7. Heaven Is Nearer and Dearer Everyday—I have a sweeter view of heaven by listening to the longings of these women’s hearts to go Home.
“Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be His people, and God Himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (Revelation 21:3-4).
8. Sacrificial Love—I have watched them lay down their lives for their family and friends by loving them sacrificially and extending grace to others.
“By this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers” (1 John 3:16).
9. Beautiful Workmanship—Paul speaks of our lives as a beautiful poem or work of art. I have gazed into their lives and seen the beauty that God has fashioned out of the brokenness of loss.
“For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (Ephesians 2:10).
10. Faithful to the Finish—I have watched the fruit of a long obedience in the same direction yield in their lives a yielded life that perseveres with a desire to be faithful to the finish.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7).
Gratefully,
| 
