If you receive the Daily Treasure online devotional, then you know that this week we are getting a glimpse into the life of Deborah, the only female judge of Israel. During one of the darkest periods in my own journey, Deborah’s response to “dying village life” encouraged and equipped me to respond with strength to the devastating hopelessness that followed the death of our sixteen-year-old son. My enemies were not brutal soldiers but the still powerful grief, depression, sorrow, and anger; enemies that pressed hard against my heart, threatening to break it beyond repair.

Deborah’s iconic declaration, “Village life ceased, ceased until I, Deborah, arose, arose a mother in Israel” pierced the dark shroud created by my enemies in a way that encouraged me to rise up and face these enemies head on in the power of the love and grace of my God.

Deborah’s response to the hopelessness of her people stirred up the coals of life still burning in the ashes of their community. Read Judges 4-5 to learn more about Deborah. Her story declares that in the middle of circumstances beyond our control, we can claim the promise that God is sovereign and we can trust Him. (Subscribe to Daily Treasure)

God graciously fills my life with older women (like Deborah) who offer life-giving encouragement through their own responses to hard places. I’ve never met Deborah but I can’t wait to thank her for responding to hopelessness with life-giving action. In this twilight season of my life, God is giving me opportunities to share some of the life-giving truths that women ahead of me in life’s journey, women like Deborah, modeled for me, calling back that God is sovereign and I can trust Him. Recently Karen Hodge, Director of Women’s Ministries for the Presbyterian Church in America, interviewed me on the topic Faithfulness in the Afternoon of Life (click to listen).

I hope our conversation encourages you in the pathway God has marked out for you. Feel free to share it with someone who is struggling with the thing called aging!

God used the women’s ministry leadership team of the Presbyterian Church in America as a safe place for me to experience His love and grace as I grieved the deaths of our son, Mark and his friend, Kelly. Check out the Women’s Ministry Page on the CDM website, where you’ll find a treasure chest full of resources designed to encourage, equip and enable women to offer the help and hope of Jesus to others.

Treasured by Him,

Sharon