Sarah's Daughters

   I've been reading a lot lately, more than usual. Some books I read through and think of as kind of a once a week TV show...a way to pass the time. Some books, however, I read and they have a profound effect on me. In spite of the "chemo brain," I remember something and it won't let me go. This happened when I read Jeanette Windle's book Betrayed. It is definitely a thriller. I had a hard time putting it down. Two sisters, one working on behalf non-profits for children and one working for a wildlife rescue, cross paths in Guatemala. It's hard to tell who to trust in the midst of government corruption and past secrets surrounding the sisters' parent's deaths. Windle's experience growing up in the mountains of Columbia to missionary parents has brought realism to the writing. I'm looking forward to reading more of Windle's work and starting her newly released Congo Dawn.
   The part of the book I just couldn't forget was the missionary at the orphanage and her advice to live as "Sarah's daughters." I have been studying the Bible for years, but have never come across this term/idea. (I'm also constantly learning that the more I learn about the Bible, the more I don't know!) With the author's permission (Thanks, Jeanette!), I'm posting an explanation taken from a conversation the missionary has with one of the sisters who is trying to decide what to believe and do:

You see, we keep thinking that if we can just figure out how to manipulate the sistuation, if we can read the future and make the right decisions, we can make things turn out the way we want them.  The problem is, we don't know all the facts, and we can't read the future nor are we called to.   All you and I are called to do in any situation is to be Sarah's dauhters. Do what is right. Do not give way to fear.  If you just do that, believe me, the heavenly Father, your sister loved to sing about will take care of the outcome, just as He did for Sarah. It might not be the outcome we planned, but it'll be the right one.

    The concept of being Sarah's daughters comes from I Peter 3:6. When talking about Sarah, the verse says, " You are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear."  Remembering to do what is right and not give way to fear is something that needs to become second nature to us all.
    Now if you're like me and have studied some about Sarah, you may be saying, "Hey, wait a minute. Sarah didn't always do what was right." The book addressed that, too. The missionary goes on to say, "It's when we forget- or figure the end justifies the means to get what we want- that we really mess things up." This was also demonstrated by Sarah when she was promised a child by God, but didn't wait for His timing. (See Genesis 16) Sarah's choice to do things on her own continues to affect the world today.
   Yes the book Betrayed is realistic fiction, but it does a great job of portraying how Biblical truth is woven into the fabric of our lives. Conclusion: Even though my mom's name was Shirley, I also want to live as one of Sarah's daughters.