A snapshot of Anna, the phenomenal and faithful leader

To kick off our 19th annual Treasures of Hope Christmas Store, we're profiling individuals who played a role in the story of Jesus' birth in #12DaystoTreasures. 

The prophetess Anna only gets a snapshot in Luke's "orderly account" of the birth of Jesus and His dedication, but that snapshot speaks volumes about the constancy of godly leadership.

Luke describes Anna as the daughter of Penuel, which means the "face of God." She was a descendant of the tribe of Asher, a tribe the rabbis associated with the priesthood, according to chabad.org. Luke also says Anna was a widow of advanced age, but scholars find the text tricky to interpret. When was she married? When was she widowed? Anna may have been an 84-year-old widow when she met Mary and Joseph and the Baby Jesus, or she was widowed 84 years, as an article in Bible History Daily explains. Either way, Anna was dependable. She found her place in the temple and stayed steadfast night and day, in prayer, fasting and worship.

Anna was a spiritual leader who called out to heaven. Interceding was her life purpose and she positioned herself to fulfill it. Perhaps she drew strength from Psalm 122, which describes a person overjoyed to go to Jerusalem for worship:

I was glad when they said unto me, Let us go into the house of the Lord. Our feet shall stand within thy gates, O Jerusalem. Jerusalem is builded as a city that is compact together:Whither the tribes go up, the tribes of the Lord, unto the testimony of Israel, to give thanks unto the name of the Lord (KJV).

Commitment is an essential ingredient in leadership of any kind. At Dallas Leadership Foundation, we know how important it is to demonstrate a sustained
commitment to the communities we serve. We work hard to let community leaders and their neighbors know that we'll work alongside them, that we're dependable and accessible.

It's why we have offered the Treasures of Hope Christmas Store for nearly two decades. Eighteen hundred children will receive Christmas toys this year because their parents will shop for toys at a discount of 75 percent or more below the retail price. For nearly two decades, communities have looked forward to our store as a place where they can donate toys or shop for their families.

Like Anna, we want to be faithful at our post. This woman saw the face of God in the face of the Baby Jesus and shared the good news about His birth. We want to do the same. Sharing the presence of the Lord by helping families at the Treasures of Hope Christmas store is a gift we love to share every year.

If you want to donate toys and other items to Treasures of Hope so that we can make Christmas special for hundreds of Dallas families, please visit  our online store at dlftx.org.