By the time she makes her appearance in holy pages, Anna is at least 84 years old. Some argue the text implies she’d been a widow for 84 years, making her age 100 plus. Either way, we can agree based on Luke 2:36-38 that she was well past the age of needing a little hair color.

Anna married young, as most Jewish girls, somewhere around the age of 12 or 13. By the time she was a latter teenager, however, grief knocked on her door and buried her dream in a husband’s grave. What is a 20-year-old widow to do?

For Anna, the only answer was to be a worshiper in the LORD’s temple. Day and night, whenever the temple doors were open, Anna faithfully made her way to the One who gave her life, worshiping, praying and leaning on the hope of Messiah. One husband was replaced by another, and every day became about the dream of seeing His face.

Decades later, when Anna’s presence inside the temple had become as familiar to all of Jerusalem as it’s ornate walls, her dream came true. The Messiah she long worshipped came as a baby to a woman who would never have one of her own.

Thursday I read a blog article titled “The Anna Syndrome.” Written by and for single women and referencing the story of Anna in Luke 2, the article discussed the tendency of some single women to lose themselves in the busyness of church work as an escape from the weight of their singleness. In all fairness, I must point out that I’ve seen a good share of married women doing the same thing. Whether married or single, we all attempt to assuage our loneliness in the wrong places and people at times.

Though I enjoyed the article, I disagree in that I don’t believe Anna had any kind of syndrome. There is a big difference between finding comfort in God’s presence and seeking escape in constant church activity. I don’t see Anna signing up for every temple committee, making kosher casseroles, knitting lap quilts, or volunteering for the temple tiny tots nursery program.

She is worshiping. Singing. Praying. Preaching. She is a woman who has found completeness without a man, a career or even a to-do list to keep her insulated from the grief of losing her dream before it began.

Are you an Anna who is desperate to lose herself in church activity? Or are you the Anna who wants nothing more than to lose yourself in worship?

One will leave you empty and burned out. The other will leave you full and ready for a visit from the King.

We’ve been told by some of our neighbors that our home has nice curb appeal. We have worked hard to create a home that is warm and inviting from the inside out. If you were to walk up the steps to our door you would first notice a lovely flower garden with a café table and chairs nestled among some flower pots. Then you would notice a large, colorful doormat that says “Welcome.” As your eyes travel to the doorbell you would then see a small, handmade sign that boldly reads, “PLEASE NO SOLICITORS.”

Kind of takes away from the charm I just described doesn’t it? Well, I have two children who are always eager to answer the door, so for our safety, I felt it best to turn away solicitors with my sign. Then one evening I was out watering flowers when two young men with “salesman” oozing from their smiles walked up the driveway (too far away to see my sign). They asked me if we were interested in a home security system. The funny thing is that, not five minutes before, I had told my husband I thought we should reactivate our security system. Hmmm. So, I invited them in. We discussed the details. And the next week our new system was activated.

My first impression of those two men was that they were going to waste my time. Immediately my guard went up and “no” was on the tip of my tongue. But my assumption of them was wrong. They really did have something to offer that I wanted to hear about.

I find the story of Hannah’s experience in the temple to be a great lesson on first impressions. When Eli (the priest) first noticed Hannah in the temple he was a little mislead observing Hannah’s pleas to God.

“Hannah was praying in her heart, and her lips were moving but her voice was not heard. Eli thought she was drunk and said to her, "How long will you keep on getting drunk? Get rid of your wine." 1 Samuel 1:13 – 14

We all know drunkenness was not Hannah’s problem. In fact the way scripture describes this earnest outpouring to the Lord is beautiful to me. Hannah was not causing a scene in the temple. Scriptures says she was not heard. But Eli was drawn to observe her. Why was that?

I believe Eli was well read and intellectual. He obeyed the laws of his faith and held a respectable position within the temple. But in my opinion, he had not yet experienced God like Hannah had. He didn’t understand the deep emotion she was experiencing in worship and thus formed a faulty impression.

As the story continues in I Samuel, Eli eventually became a tremendous influence in the life of Hannah’s son, Samuel. As she had promised to the Lord, Hannah gave her son over to the Lord’s service at a very young age. Samuel was mentored and taught by Eli as he grew up in the temple. I have to wonder if Eli ever reflected on the day when he first met Hannah. Did he kick himself for having such a poor first impression of her?

First impressions go both ways. We not only need to be careful of the first impressions we leave, but we also need to be careful of what we assume of others. As Christians we have the capability of being such a tremendous influence in this world. There are so many searching for truth. Most likely they don’t turn to the Bible first; instead they read the person—the Christian. From a short distance I may look warm and friendly, but how many people have graced my presence only to turn away when they read my “no solicitors” sign?

“You are the light of the world.” Matthew 5:14a