She Did What She Could

Jesus said, “She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. I tell you the truth, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.” – Mark 14:8-9

Running along a country road in Maine, I passed an old cemetery. I hadn’t planned to stop, but I quickly found myself mesmerized by the writing on the tombstones. Walking the grassy pathways, I saw whole families buried together, revealing a story of what life was like one hundred and fifty years ago. 

Tiny stones, engraved with the initials of babies who never made it to their first birthdays, lay next their parents’ larger ones. Further down the row were sons in their early twenties who fought in World War II, young men who never made it home to marry or start a family of their own. 

As I counted the children lost by Moses and Mary Harriman, an unthinkable toll in today’s world of modern medicine and relative safety, I wondered how I would feel in their place. Was it easier for them? Were they hardened to it? I was hit with the realization that we would have felt the same way. Sorrow is timeless. 

Empathy welled up in my heart for a mother I’d never known. I went back down the row and read each child’s name again. I stopped at a badly weathered headstone, was her name Caroline or Carolina? She was born in 1869 (exactly 100 years before me) and she died just twenty-seven years later. I wondered why. Was it during childbirth, from disease, or an accident? I knew nothing about her, but when my eyes fell on what her parents had engraved, I admired her immediately.

She Did What She Could

Jesus spoke those exact words over Mary, Martha and Lazarus’ sister after the disciples criticized her for pouring expensive perfume over Jesus’ head and feet. (Mark 14:3-9) Jesus stood up for Mary and defended her act of lavish love and pure devotion. She will always be remembered as the woman who prepared Jesus’ body for the cross. 

Yes, the perfume was costly, but Mary had the resources to purchase it. Yes, the act of obedience was ridiculed, but Mary stepped forward anyway. She used her resources and what was in her hands to bless Jesus and confess her faith and adoration in public.

Could it be said of you, “She did what she could”?

• Are you using the resources God has given you to bless Jesus and others?
• Are you utilizing what’s in your hand, your strengths and talents, for God’s glory?

I see women today doing exactly what God designed them to do. Susan generously cooks for Attentions Homes, a home for at risk teens. Cheri lovingly mentors young women through MOPS, Mothers of Preschoolers. And Mo joyfully checks kids at church then cleans whatever needs to be cleaned in the café. All three women are using their gifts from God to bless others and glorify God.

Today ask yourself… When my life is over, will it be said of me that I did what I could? It’s never too late. Start now and the answer will certainly be, YES!

The Power of Giving God Thanks Will Ignite Your Faith and Change Your World

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