To face an army of 400 angry warriors...so to speak

What do you do with the courage and knowledge God has given you? 

Anyone who’s spent more than a few moments with me knows that my favorite woman in the Bible is Abigail. This appreciation began in 1986, at a writer’s conference in Seattle. I was there as a teacher, but I wound up being taught far more than I shared.

One of the seminars I attended was led by John R. Kohlenberger III, one of the preeminent Bible scholars in this country. To be honest, I don’t remember the subject of the session. What I remember was John’s description of Abigail as one of the only women in Scripture whose brains are mentioned before her beauty (1 Samuel 25:3).

Now, to a writer—and a woman who’s never been known for her looks—this constituted pure music. I couldn’t wait to read more about a woman who was as wise as she was lovely.

One of the things I like about Abigail is her ability to face whatever crossed her path with wisdom and heart. She never set out to be the wife of a king; she expected to spend her life with Nabal. But when her world was threatened, she knew what she had to do. She wisely considered her choices and followed her heart and mind up a rocky mountain path, trusting David's wisdom and appealing to his judgment. She used her mind to appeal to his. Her intelligence and faith gave her the courage to face an army of 400 angry warriors.

Most of us never have to face down an army, thankfully. But more than a few of us have had to climb some pretty rocky paths. Life isn’t always what we expected or planned for. The past year for me has been particularly difficult; definitely nothing I had expected. It began when I moved in with my mother because her health was failing. After her death, I didn’t even have a chance to grieve before my life went through one upheaval after another.

But I kept climbing, trusting that any journey I make with God is going to be well worth the effort. I continue to do so. I now stand at the beginning of yet another journey, one I know will be filled with new people and new blessings. And I dearly hope God will lead me to share all that I’ve learned with the people who need it most.

Like Abigail, we can all use the mind and heart God gave us to change our world.