Speaking Of Life 4005 | Just Like Mom Used to Make
Greg Williams
One of the sweet memories I have of my college days was the care packages I got from my mom. I would show up at the student mail counter and get that much-anticipated box filled with fudge, no-bake cookies, a loving note, new socks, and a surprise or two—just a touch of home. As a young college student, I didn’t realize how important this kind of interaction was. My mom was connecting me with my family and the story I came from—the disorienting experience of young adulthood was relieved for a moment. This is who you are—not just words, but they gave me a taste and feel of home.
We can only guess, but the young prophet Samuel may have felt the same way. The high priest’s sons, who were supposed to be learning the arts of the temple, were distracted and sin-addicted. Samuel, at a young age, was already doing some of the priest work, as we see in this brief touching account of his mother’s visit:
Samuel was ministering before the Lord, a boy clothed with a linen ephod. And his mother used to make for him a little robe and take it to him each year when she went up with her husband to offer the yearly sacrifice.
1 Samuel 2:18-19 (ESV)
Samuel’s mother Hannah had prayed for a child for decades. When Samuel was finally born, she dedicated him to the Lord—to live at the temple and assist the priest. She visited once a year and brought him the “care package” of a new robe she made for him every year. She only saw him once and she had to guess carefully how much he grew that year.
Hannah joins the great tradition of biblical women—powerful elegant ladies who are vital to the narrative of the gospel. In the ancient world where women were often disregarded, these heroic females stood out as examples of courage and rugged love.
Hannah knows that her boy is destined for great things and serves in the very presence of God, but she also knows he’s her boy. That he needs the touch of home and that God only calls real-life, momma-needing people to bring in his kingdom.
Has God ever used someone—be it your mother or someone else—to remind you of your frailty, but also to remind you that he cares about you? That he cares about your need for comfort and your need for love? Does he use those who can see right through us and yet still love us, like mom does? This “for-us,” unconditional Godly love is what our amazing Triune God wants for us all, and finds unique ways to provide—often through unexpected care packages.
May you experience the care packages he sends your way.
I’m Greg Williams, Speaking of Life.
