Twice already I have come close to being a widow, once at 42 and again at 48, and both times I said to myself, I’ll never gripe about picking up his socks again. The very idea of being alone, especially that young, was terrifying. At six and a half years his junior, statistics say it will happen, but I’m grateful for every day I have. There’s something to be said for a good scare!
Those scares have also made me take more notice of widows than I did before. Too often, those of us with families get too caught up in our own whirlwinds to care for these women as we ought. In our culture, widows do not always need financial assistance—with insurance, pensions, and social security, many widows are not always indigent as they were in ancient times—but most widows in the world are still not so materially blessed. Beyond that, widows often need physical care because the majority of them are elderly. And every widow needs the emotional and spiritual assistance we take for granted because we still have our husbands. They may need trips to their various doctors, or, if they still drive, assistance with car care. Often they need someone to take them shopping—which, as long as they can, is far superior to picking things up for them because it gets them out of the house and gives them a change in their routines. But more, they need company. They no longer have that one to whom we turn to share ideas, to get daily problems off our chest, to enjoy the beauty of a sunset or the thrill of a storm in the wee hours. Widows are lonely in a way most of us will never understand until it happens to us.
Be aware: God has a special place in his heart for the widow. In fact, "widows and orphans" came to be a figure for all of those who are needy in one way or the other. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (Jas 1:27). Do you really think that if you only took care of widows and orphans and left the rest of the needy in need that your religion would be considered "pure and undefiled?" Of course not. They are a figure for the whole. And get a load of these verses!
You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this (Deut 24:17-18).
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! (Isa 10:1-2).
You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless (Exod 22:21-24).
I could go on and on for pages. Maybe it is time to ask ourselves if we are neglecting those very people God made sure would be cared for in the Law, and today under the law of Christ. (Yes, there is such a thing, Gal 6:2). My next two posts come from women who have been there. Perhaps they will make us all more aware of our duty to all those in need, whether they look that way or not--strong people have a way of hiding their feelings. Being too busy is never an excuse for ignoring the will of God. And I also hope that they will help those widows among us who are struggling to cope. Two of your sisters are willing to bare their souls to help you.
Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts (Mal 3:5).
Dene Ward
Those scares have also made me take more notice of widows than I did before. Too often, those of us with families get too caught up in our own whirlwinds to care for these women as we ought. In our culture, widows do not always need financial assistance—with insurance, pensions, and social security, many widows are not always indigent as they were in ancient times—but most widows in the world are still not so materially blessed. Beyond that, widows often need physical care because the majority of them are elderly. And every widow needs the emotional and spiritual assistance we take for granted because we still have our husbands. They may need trips to their various doctors, or, if they still drive, assistance with car care. Often they need someone to take them shopping—which, as long as they can, is far superior to picking things up for them because it gets them out of the house and gives them a change in their routines. But more, they need company. They no longer have that one to whom we turn to share ideas, to get daily problems off our chest, to enjoy the beauty of a sunset or the thrill of a storm in the wee hours. Widows are lonely in a way most of us will never understand until it happens to us.
Be aware: God has a special place in his heart for the widow. In fact, "widows and orphans" came to be a figure for all of those who are needy in one way or the other. Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained from the world (Jas 1:27). Do you really think that if you only took care of widows and orphans and left the rest of the needy in need that your religion would be considered "pure and undefiled?" Of course not. They are a figure for the whole. And get a load of these verses!
You shall not pervert the justice due to the sojourner or to the fatherless, or take a widow's garment in pledge, but you shall remember that you were a slave in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you from there; therefore I command you to do this (Deut 24:17-18).
Woe to those who decree iniquitous decrees, and the writers who keep writing oppression, to turn aside the needy from justice and to rob the poor of my people of their right, that widows may be their spoil, and that they may make the fatherless their prey! (Isa 10:1-2).
You shall not wrong a sojourner or oppress him, for you were sojourners in the land of Egypt. You shall not mistreat any widow or fatherless child. If you do mistreat them, and they cry out to me, I will surely hear their cry, and my wrath will burn, and I will kill you with the sword, and your wives shall become widows and your children fatherless (Exod 22:21-24).
I could go on and on for pages. Maybe it is time to ask ourselves if we are neglecting those very people God made sure would be cared for in the Law, and today under the law of Christ. (Yes, there is such a thing, Gal 6:2). My next two posts come from women who have been there. Perhaps they will make us all more aware of our duty to all those in need, whether they look that way or not--strong people have a way of hiding their feelings. Being too busy is never an excuse for ignoring the will of God. And I also hope that they will help those widows among us who are struggling to cope. Two of your sisters are willing to bare their souls to help you.
Then I will draw near to you for judgment. I will be a swift witness against the sorcerers, against the adulterers, against those who swear falsely, against those who oppress the hired worker in his wages, the widow and the fatherless, against those who thrust aside the sojourner, and do not fear me, says the LORD of hosts (Mal 3:5).
Dene Ward
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