The Woman Who Touched Heaven

By Kerri-Ann Haye-Donawa
This week's topic: Mothers

I recently re-read the account of the Shunammite woman and felt myself becoming enveloped in her story. We don’t know her name, neither do we know the name of her husband, but the significance of the story isn’t in her name nor is it about who she’s married to. No, rather, this story is about a nameless woman, whose valiant spirit captured heaven’s attention (2 Kings 4:8-36).

Day after day she prepared for the prophet’s arrival. She was ‘great’ or ‘wealthy’ by earthly standards, but her true joy was contained in serving this humble, itinerant stranger. He was no longer just a passing visitor; he had been adopted as a vital member of her family. She delighted in the realization that God had blessed her by choosing her to host His humble manservant.
But she was dealing with something; something unresolved deep within her. She was childless. You see, up until this point in her story, the Shunammite woman had never had the pleasure of cradling her own baby. She’d never felt the tug of a nursing infant. Yet, I argue that she was a mother long before her womb conceived. The Shunammite woman was a nurturer and caregiver, a nurse and comforter. She had the heartbeat of a mother and it echoed in the far reaches of heaven as she attended to Elisha.

And so it happened. Without struggle, without entreaty or spoken request, God did the miraculous in her life. I imagine the moment she first felt her child flutter in her womb, the first time he kicked against the walls of her diaphragm, the first sign of her ‘baby bump’; it must’ve been an emotional experience as she walked through that precious nine month journey she’d resigned hoping for. It must’ve been an exceptional event when she heard the sound of her baby crying for the first time. Her life had forever changed on multiple dimensions.

But then something else happened. That same baby that was gifted to her from heaven, the one she felt growing and moving in her womb, the same child that gave her pleasure every time he said ‘mama’, fell ill and died, in her lap.
She had willingly accepted God’s gift of pregnancy, but the premature death of her child she would not accept. So she ran, despite her husband’s questions; she gathered herself and went straight to the man of God. Once again her heartbeat echoed in the halls of heaven and once again heaven replied. The child that had died was miraculously restored to life.

This story captivates me, because the woman we see here understood the principle of nurturing anyone given into her care. Indeed, she was a mother long before she bore her first child. So today we treasure the heart of this nameless woman who captured the attention of heaven and laid hold of the supernatural by her defiant faith in God.

As we celebrate Mothers’ Day this year, let us celebrate those among us who nurture and protect those within their care. Let us celebrate the passion of those who care for the orphans and the neglected, who love the adopted, and enforce victory on behalf of the forgotten. We celebrate you mothers, for your valour and your virtue; for your love and your relentlessness. Today, know that you are great, even if you are nameless to some, even if there is no husband to identify with, you have influence and access to heaven. To the one who depends on you, your name means life!

Scripture of the Day: “She opens her hand to the poor, yes, she reaches out her filled hands to the needy [whether in body, mind, or spirit]. Many daughters have done virtuously, nobly, and well [with the strength of character that is steadfast in goodness], but you excel them all.” - Proverbs 31:29

Kerri-Ann Haye-Donawa is a writer and editor who is passionate about the word of God and how it is translated in our everyday lives. She holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Religious Studies and a Master’s Degree in Theological Studies, and is a member of Rhema Christian Ministries, Toronto, Canada. http://twitter.com/#!/KHayeDonawa…