This Wise Woman

Wednesday 4-22-15 (Gaiman IBP, Argentina)

Scripture reading:  1 Sam 25-26    Ps 63     Matt 9

S.  1 Sam 25:18-19  Abigail lost no time. She quickly gathered two hundred loaves of bread, two skins of wine, five dressed sheep, nearly a bushel of roasted grain, one hundred raisin cakes, and two hundred fig cakes. She packed them on donkeys and said to her servants, "Go on ahead. I will follow you shortly." But she didn't tell her husband what she was doing.  NLT

O.  David had sent some of his men to request a favor of Nabal, a very wealthy man who had been protected by David’s men from marauders for some time.  Nabal (whose name ended up being synonymous with “fool”) insulted David’s men and refused to help.  David then blew into a rage and armed his men to go up and kill Nabal.  But Nabal’s wife, Abigail, had been informed of Nabal’s foolish answer to David’s request and headed David’s angry gang off at the pass while her foolish husband was having a party getting drunk.  And with a generous gift and good counsel, this wise woman kept David from taking vengeance into his own hands.  The next day, when her husband was sober, she told him what she had done.  At the news he had a heart attack and in 10 days died. 

A.  And beautiful, wise Abigail later accepted David’s request to become his wife.  It almost sounds like one of those “they lived happily ever after” stories.  What can I learn from this wild, but true, tale? 

It is good to have a level headed wife at your side.  She can keep you out of trouble.  My Frances was like that.  I was quick to make decisions, but she could calm me down and help me to take in the whole picture.  I often thanked the Lord for Frances… and let her know what a blessing she was to me.  She dropped out of college to take a job at 75 cents per hour to help pay the bills while I was studying for the ministry and while I was working two jobs, day and night at $1.25 per hour to keep us from going into debt.  She was good with a typewriter and would work with me into the early morning hours to complete a term research paper and other assignments.  And she did all this motivated by love.  She was my Abigail… a woman of home-spun wisdom.  Oh, how I miss her now!

P.  Lord, You carried my dear wife away to her new home.  Yet I thank You for 58 wonderful years with her help and wise counsel.  You know that without her I probably would have crashed and burned.  You know how I miss her.  Now I am left on my own to make errors and try to correct them.  They say, two heads are better than one.  So now I need Your help more than ever.  Send Your blessed Holy Spirit to guide me down this unique path that You have called me to follow.  I will read again her favorite scripture* and hopefully learn to trust in You.  Amen.

*Proverbs 3:5-6  Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding.  In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.  KJV

Gentle Shepherd

(lyrics modified slightly to make it more personal for me)

Gentle Shepherd come and lead me
For I need you to help me find my way
Gentle Shepherd come and feed me
For I need your strength from day to day

There's no other I can turn to
Who can help me face another day

Gentle Shepherd come and lead me
For I need to you to help me find my way


There's no other I can turn to
Who can help me face another day

Gentle Shepherd come and lead me
For I need to you to help me find my way

 Ralph