Pondering St. Anna the Prophetess

Yesterday in the Orthodox Church we remembered St. Anna the Prophetess, along with St. Simeon the God-Receiver. After the previous day's celebration of the Presentation of Our Lord in the Temple, we have a day to honor two of the key figures in that event. 

It occurred to me some time ago, in pondering my infertility, that Anna the Prophetess is an encouragement to childless women. Usually, when we read about a barren woman in the Bible, the outcome of her story is that God opened her womb and gave her a child. Anna, on the other hand, is not described specifically as a barren woman, but it seems to me from what we are told that she had no children: "She was of a great age, and had lived with a husband seven years from her virginity; and this woman was a widow of about eighty-four years, who did not depart from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day" (Luke 2:36-37). After living with her husband for seven years, Anna became a widow and went to live in the temple. It seems clear to me that this means she did not have children to care for when she was first widowed, nor did she have children to care for her in her old age; thus, she served in the temple and was cared for by the temple. 

In the Orthodox tradition, we know that the Virgin Mary was raised in the temple, after her parents dedicated her to the service of God. So, we can surmise that the Prophetess Anna, living in the temple at that same time, knew the Mother of God when she was growing up and was involved in her upbringing. This is a very encouraging thought to me, because it means that, while Anna wasn't granted children of her own, God had a special plan for her to help raise His own mother! Anna's full story is not revealed to us, but perhaps Anna spent many years of her life longing for her husband who had fallen asleep before her and longing for children of her own. Yet, in the Lord's good time, He presented her with the opportunity to care for a child, after all. 

This reminds me that God has wonderful and unique plans for each of us, and that a long wait doesn't mean that He has forgotten. It may only be a matter of time before the fulfillment of our long-held desires will arrive in some entirely unlooked-for way.