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“She never left the temple but worshiped night and day, fasting and praying.” Luke 2:37 (NIV)

I was in the conference room with several other individuals, waiting to hear the defense of my friend Debbie’s dissertation. I was so excited I could hardly sit still in my chair. You see, Debbie and I have been friends ever since we took a course together a couple of years ago, and I would not have missed her special day for anything.

The defense of a dissertation is the culmination of much work, research and sleepless nights. So much goes into getting to that very last, yet, memorable moment: when you get to spend time talking about your research, your findings, recommendations, and answering questions from anyone present in the room. After that one last hour of labor, you get to hear your name preceded by the word “doctor.” These celebratory moments after much arduous work are well worth the time one devotes to them.

I now want to share with you an experience that happened much, much longer ago. The setting was a temple and the event revolved around the fulfillment of the law of the Lord according to Moses, when baby Jesus should be circumcised and consecrated to the Lord. When Mary and Joseph took the baby to the temple, there was a prophet named Anna there, who was depicted as being faithful to the Lord. If you’d like to hear a little more, I will tell you that she was married for seven years in her youth.  After her husband died, Anna remained in the temple praying and devoting herself to the Lord through prayer and fasting.

In my poor mathematical skills, I would estimate that Anna probably stayed in that temple around 60 years, give or take. Now, if she could’ve guessed that one day she would be present at such an amazing moment to meet our Savior as a baby on the day He was being consecrated to the Father, I would say those many years of temple devotion and prayer were well worth the prize. As for my friend Debbie, she did great at her defense, by the way, and left the room with nothing less than the pay of her hard labor.

“Dear Lord, please help us to keep our eyes focused on the final prize.”

For His Glory

Luska Suzano
TRBC Women’s Life