The Handmaiden
One day…
…as the Father sat on His throne…
…His eyes running to and fro upon the earth…
…He observed a handmaiden.
Listening to her prayers…
…turning His ear to her cries…
…bending forward to the sounds of praise…
…He considered her heart.
She was advancing in years…
…as earthly calculations are measured…
…but to God, there are no years…
…only fruit.
She, being slight of frame…
…and white of hair…
…often surprised people that she met…
…fervent fire in her heart.
A burning intensity…
…worship that flowed…
…speaking to friends and strangers alike…
…”Jesus is my Lord!”.
‘It is a good thing…
…to give thanks unto the Lord…
…to sing praises unto Thy Name…
…O, most High;
‘To show forth…
…Thy loving kindness in the morning…
…and Thy faithfulness…
…every night.
‘Upon an instrument of ten strings…
…upon the psaltery…
…upon the harp with a solemn sound.’…
…she sang to her Master.
There were times of reflection…
…choices she had made…
…paths that she had walked…
…the good things and the distressing.
In her closet of prayer…
…her heart crying out…
…”Father, why bless me, for I am unworthy.”…
…He listened with tender mercy.
‘But thou, Lord…
…are most High forevermore.”…
…and He remembered His Word…
…this handmaiden bowed before Him.
‘The righteous shall flourish…
…like the palm tree…
…long lived, useful and fruitful…
..like a cedar in Lebanon.
‘Planted in the house…
…of the Lord…
…they shall flourish in the courts…
…of our God.
‘Growing in grace…
…still bringing forth fruit in old age…
…full of spiritual vitality…
…rich in love and full of sap.
‘They are living memorials…
…unto the Lord…
…to show that He is upright and faithful…
…to His promises.’
He spoke through the heavens…
…His Word going forth…
…”Fill her horn with oil and gather her tears…
…they are a remembrance to Me.
“This handmaiden shall testify…
…that I AM Faithful and True…
…to the end of her days…
…as she draws her final breaths.”
Outward vitality diminishes…
…the eyes grow dim…
…the pace slows…
…society often dismissive.
Yet a heart humbled and yielded…
…the path of the Father’s choosing…
…a daily choice…
…fruit testifying His Faithfulness.
And the Father sits on His throne…
…eyes running to and fro…
…across the earth…
…searching more.
For many are called…
…few answer…
…still fewer walk the path…
…age is irrelevant to God.
In the silent stillness of night…
…elusive sleep…
…the handmaiden sits before her Lord…
…heart filled with prayer and praise.