My Testimony - Part 1 - God Calls A Child!

"But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Suffer little children to come unto me, and forbid them not; for of such is the kingdom of God." Luke 18:16

Sarah, in red, age 4. Isn't baby sister so cute!!

I am the middle daughter of 3 girls. My parent's were divorced when I was 3 years old. I remember some visits with my father growing up, but they were few and far between, and did not last for many years. We had a neighbor who was also named Sarah, so I was always called by my first and middle name, Sarah Jeanne, or more often Sarah Jeanne Jelly Bean. I love being called Sarah Jeanne, but my mother is the only one who still calls me that.

As you can see, we were raised by a single mom. And let me remind you in the 1980's it was not popular to be a single mom. But my mom loved us and was determined to put our needs before her own. I'm sure she made many sacrifices we never knew about, especially in my younger years.

Sarah age 6. Hubby's favorite picture.

My mother knew she would need help, support and encouragement to raise 3 daughters on her own, so she found a good church to bring us up in. We went to church every Sunday for as long as I can remember. I've always had a tender heart towards the Lord so it was not surprising to my mom when I wanted to be baptized as a young girl. I was farily quiet and shy as a child (don't know where that girl went to! LOL) so I begged my little sister to "go under" with me! Thankfully she was ready as well to dedicate her life to Christ!

I remember my mom taking me to a special service at a neighboring church when I was 7 or 8. The speaker was a foreign missionary, I can't remember to what country. This missionary was the biggest black man I had ever seen, and growing up in Maine, I had not seen many. He was animated and compassionate and I was greatly moved by his presentation about his mission work. I instantly fell in love with him and wanted to be just like him. In fact it was in this tiny little country church listening to this passionate missionary that God called me into the ministry.

Here I was, a little 7 year old girl who didn't even have adult teeth yet, and God was calling me. I just knew I had to tell the world how GREAT our God is! I remember this conversation I had with him ..

God calls Sarah to the ministry at age 7.
This was my "practice" missionary dress! LOL

"God I'm going to be a foreign missionary when I grow up!" I knew he would be so proud!

But he answered back, "Sarah, what about your own people?"

"Well God, they already have preachers here and I want to go where people have never heard about you before!"

Again God said, "Sarah, what about your own people?"

So I tried another argument, "Americans have heard the gospel for years and still refuse to bow. It's time to go to somebody who wants to hear the word of God." (That's quite a bit of wisdom for a 7 year old I think!)

But a third time God spoke to me and said, "Sarah, what about your own people? Who will preach to them?"

And I knew! I knew God wasn't going to let me off the hook! He wasn't going to call me to be a missionary in an exotic land and preach in the jungle. No he was calling me to work in my own back yard. A preacher of the gospel to "my own people" who have heard the word of God their whole lives and still refuse to bow. At the tender age of 7 God had called me to be a home missionary!

REFLECTIONS:
~Have you found a good support group in a local church? If not encourage you to look for one!
~Did you know God has a work even for children to do?
~Has God ever called you to do something, but you wanted him to call you to do something different?
~Have you found yourself arguing with God trying to "convince" him you are right?

Thank you for following along with my testimony! Please continue to Part 2 - A Path Of Sin. If you are enjoying this series please share with your friends!

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