"CALL SARAH....a still, small voice"

"Call Sarah!"  When I was walking closely with God, I would often receive this command as I sat at my computer or as I was going about my everyday chores. Sarah and I went to high-school and Teacher's College together.  We were good friends for years.  Our paths separated when she married very young and started a family.  I hadn't seen her for years when I heard the tragic news of her son's passing. He'd had a difficult life and had caused his father much disappointment and pain and his mother years of sorrow and worry.  Of course, she loved her two daughters, but this boy, perhaps because of his lack of self-control and confidence, was her heart. I attended the funeral and was very touched when upon seeing me, she rushed into my arms and sobbed.  

I knew that her son had become a 'believer' a short time before his death and having had a similar spiritual conversion years prior, I wanted to share what I knew to be his beliefs, with her.  Neither she nor her husband was Christian. The only problem was that I almost never saw her.  Perhaps every three or four years we would run into each other.  Our ways had truly parted. 

Several months went by...I found myself thinking about her a lot.  One day, I told the Lord that I wanted to share with Sarah, but I wanted it to be His will, not mine. I went so far as to tell Him that I wanted to visit her home in three days....on Wednesday. "Lord, if You want me to talk to Sarah about You, You'll have to arrange for us to meet.  I don't want to call her.  I want it to be Your will.  You know I hardly ever see her....so it's up to You!"

It was September...and time for the yearly Western Fair.  The Sunday of my prayer, my sister and her friend were going to 'walk around' the fair.  They asked me if I'd like to join them.  Throngs of people crowded the grounds; it was difficult to 'walk around', so we decided to go into the Progress Building to get away from the mob.  As is often the case at fairs, the building was almost as packed as the grounds.  We wandered slowly through the potpourri and plant section, then on to the knitted goods and wood crafts until we reached the stairs that led into the next part of the building. That's when I heard a high-pitched voice yell..."ARLENE!"  I looked in the direction of the voice and there was Sarah!! "Thank You, Father," I whispered, "Now I know it's Your will that I visit her."  The three of us approached Sarah and her husband and said our hellos.  I took her aside and said, "Sarah, how often do we see each other?"  "I don't know...maybe once every three or four years?"  I continued, "I want you to know that this is a little miracle and I would like to visit you on Wednesday to talk about your son.  Would that be okay with you?" She hesitated, "Sure, I guess that would be fine." 

I was thrilled, of course, that He had arranged this meeting and gave thanks!  This was to be the first of many times that He would arrange some sort of contact between Sarah and me. God was pursuing her and used me to let her know that He loved her....so "Call Sarah!"  became almost commonplace over the next couple of years. Each time I heard that in my spirit, I would question..."Is it really you, Father or is it just my imagination?" It would come 'out of the blue'.  I wouldn't be thinking about her, at all..and I would hear it. I learned to heed that command most times, and each time I did, I would call and say, "Hi. I don't know why I'm calling, but I am supposed to call you, and each time she would say, "Well, I know why you're calling," and would proceed to tell me.  It was always a time when she was experiencing great difficulty. "You're psychic," she would say.  "It has nothing at all to do with me," I always responded. "It's God wanting you to know how much He loves you." Once in a while, I would second guess myself.  "It's just my imagination.  I don't want to bother her...it's only my imagination."  I would inevitably hear...several days or weeks later, that Sarah had fallen down the stairs and broken her collar-bone, or that she was quite ill.  Each time, I would regret deeply, that I hadn't done what I was supposed to do.  He'd wanted me to show her how much He loved her, but I hadn't obeyed.  

I was taking a shower one morning when I heard, "Go to Sarah's house NOW!" "But, Lord," I complained, "I haven't eaten breakfast...can I at least eat first?" "NO.....GO NOW!"  I hurried out of the shower, dried off, dressed, and was in my car in no time flat.  I arrived at Sarah's house at 8:45 a.m., wondering why I was there. "She's going to think I'm nuts!"  I knocked softly, thinking she would still be in bed, but to my surprise she opened the door, a shocked look on her face.  "What are you doing here," she asked.  "I was in the shower and God told me to come to your house NOW. "Oh, my gosh!  I can't believe it," she said. I'm just leaving for Toronto.  My daughter is pregnant and the doctor found a problem the last time they did an ultra sound. She's having another one today.  She's worried and I want to be with her."  She asked me to pray for her daughter.  I prayed that all would be fine with the baby and that Sarah would get good news.  "I'll call you when I get home on Sunday," she said.  I didn't believe that I would hear from her, because she never called me, but I was happy to have had the chance to share His love with her once again.  

Incredibly, she did call.  I wasn't home when she did, but she left a message for me on my answering machine.  "Arlene, it's Sarah.  I just want you to know that I am going to be a grandmother.  My daughter is fine and her baby is fine.  I'm so happy...thank you, thank you!"  I hope one day Sarah realizes that it's not me she should thank, it's her Heavenly Father who loves her and wants her to know Him.