For the Young.
POOR SARAH was an Indian woman, brought up in heathen darkness, without one of those advantages which the young readers of Good News enjoy. She had never heard of Jesus, as you, dear young reader, have so often done; and long after she was grown up, she lived as having no hope and without God in the world. When she became a woman, she was married to a man, who like herself, knew nothing of the one true God. He treated her very unkindly, and she became very unhappy. To use her own simple language, “I go sorrow, sorrow all day long. When night come, husband come home angry, then I think, Oh, if Sarah had a friend! but Sarah have no friend. I no want tell neighbor I got trouble; that only make it worse; so I be quiet, tell nobody, only cry all night and day for one good friend. One Sunday, good neighbor come and say, Come, Sarah, go hear about God. So I called my children, tell them stay in house while I go. When got there, minister tell all about Jesus, how he was born in stable, how he suffer all his life from bad man, and at last die for sinners on great cross; how his precious blood cleanse from all sin every one that believes in him; how he rise again from the dead, and go up in heaven, and so be always sinner’s Friend, if sinner believe in him. He say, too, ‘If you have trouble, go to Jesus, the best friend in sorrow; he know much sorrow. His love cure your sorrow he bring you out of trouble, make you happy in himself; give you peace.’ So when I go home, I think great deal what minister say — I think, ‘This the friend I want — this the friend I cry for so long, —poor ignorant Sarah never heard so much ‘bout Jesus before.’ Then I try hard to tell Jesus how I want such a Friend, but oh, my heart so hard, can’t feel, can’t pray, can’t love Jesus, though he so good! This make me sorrow more and more. When Sunday come once more, want to go again. Then I sit down on the door and hear minister tell how bad my heart is, deceitful ‘bove all things and desp’ rately wicked,’ no love God, no love Jesus, no love prayer. So then, I see why can’t have Jesus for friend — got bad heart. Don’t know what to do; can’t make heart better if try ever so much. Minister say too, ‘Ye must be born again,’ can’t do this either; can’t do anything! When got home, feel very, very sorry for bad heart. When go to bed, keep thinking all night what that mean, Ye must be born again.’ When husband go to work, I run to my good neighbor to ask her if Bible say so too. Then she read me where that great man go to Jesus by night, ‘cause afraid to go in day-time, and I think he just like Sarah, got bad heart, yet Jesus did not turn him away. No, Jesus tell him, ‘As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, even so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life.’ So Sarah feel comforted, and ask neighbor what I do. She tell me go to Jesus. When come in home, poor Sarah kneel down and tell Jesus all about bad heart — can’t bear bad heart, can’t make it better, can’t stay away from him; must come to him just as I am, can’t do anything. So Sarah go many Sundays to hear about the Lord Jesus Christ, and every day to hear good neighbor read Bible. At last Sarah believe what God say about Jesus and his precious blood, and God make all my mind peace. Sarah love Jesus, love pray to him, love tell him all her sorrows. God take away sorrow and make soul all joy. God did it all, poor Sarah do nothing.”
Thus poor Indian Sarah was, through the grace of God, brought to Christ, and gave all the glory to him. Her desire was now to learn more of him who loved her and gave himself for her. She could not read, and she was not satisfied, as some Christians are, to wait from one week’s end to the other to hear about him. She wanted to learn of him from day to day. Her first care was to procure a Bible. There was no kind friend to give her one, she had no money, and she dared not ask her unkind husband to help her. But her love for the truth found itself a way. “I make great many brooms, and get Bible for them. Then I go ask good neighbor if she teach me to read, and she say, Yes. Then I go many days, learn letters, pray God all the while to help me learn to read his holy word. So I learn spell out good words in Bible. So every day I take Bible, tell children that be God’s word, tell them how Jesus died on cross for sinners, then make them all kneel down and pray God lead them all to believe in Jesus. Pray for husband, too; oh, how I sorry for him till he die! And now Sarah live a poor Indian widow for great many long years, always found Jesus Friend, Husband, ‘Brother born for adversity:’ and he make me willing to live in this bad world if he see right, and give me good hope through grace of everlasting glory, when he come to take me home.”
Poor Indian Sarah! What a lesson her simple story tells to believers, young and old. She knelt down with her children, prayed for them in their hearing, and taught them of him who “came into the world to save sinners.” And this she did every day. Her love for Christ, and her desire to learn of him overcame all difficulties. She labored hard to get a Bible, and she labored hard to learn to read it. And she had other work to do besides. While her husband was alive, she had both to attend to the house and family, and also to go into the field to hoe the corn, as Indian women do. Yet she could find time to learn to read, and then to teach her children about Jesus. And when her husband was dead,’ she had, if possible, to work harder still for her living. She used to carry sand in bags to the village, and sell it for food. Sometimes she took grapes and other kinds of fruit; and as she went along she took little notice of anything except children, of whom she was very fond, and whom she seldom passed without an affectionate word of exhortation to believe in Jesus Christ, to be good and obedient to parents, to learn to read God’s precious word, etc., often adding to these kind words, a bunch of grapes or an apple. Thus she gained the affection of many a little one; and we may well hope that some of them will be, through grace, her crown of rejoicing “in that day.” What became of her own children we are not told, perhaps they all died young; and it may be that the remembrance of them over whom she had so often prayed, made children dear to her gentle, loving heart; and so, though she was so poor, she must needs give them her grapes and apples, and words of kindness, too, telling them good news about the good and gracious Saviour, and trying to win them to him who “took little children into his arms, and laid his hands on them, and blessed them.” Dear young reader, do you not think that poor, kind, Indian Sarah deserves to be remembered by children? Well, because we think so too, we have written the simple history of this children’s friend in Good News; that you, in thinking about Indian Sarah, may see how the grace of God brought her to Jesus, how she went to him just as she was, how she could do nothing to get better, but by simply believing in him was saved at once, and washed from all her sins. And then, how after that she believed, she tried day by day to learn more about Jesus, and to teach others also; trying also all the while to “adorn the doctrine of God our Saviour in all things.” And this she found grace to do, because she “continued in prayer, and watched in the same with thanksgiving,” walking and talking with Jesus by the way. A friend once asked her how she managed to carry such heavy loads. Her answer was, “Oh, when I get great load I go pray God to give me strength to carry. So I go on thinking all the way how good God is. He gave his only Son to die for poor sinner like me; how good Jesus is; he suffer so much to save me, and how his love ever follow me still. So these sweet thoughts make my mind full of joy — I never think how heavy sand-bag be to my old back!”
Many other things we might tell you about this dear Christian, how she was kind to those that were unkind to her; faithful to her fellow-Christians, patient amid all her trials, grateful to all who sought to do her good, while yet tracing every kindness she received to the hand of her heavenly Father; “not slothful in business, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord,” and occupied with him from morning till night. So she went on, until at last, just exactly fifty years ago, the Lord was pleased to take her to himself, and poor Indian Sarah fell asleep in Jesus. Her poor body lies buried far away over the ocean, in the country called Connecticut, in America, where she lived and died; her spirit has exchanged its earthly tabernacle, and the poor little cabin in which she dwelt contentedly so long, for the blessed presence of Christ. And in a little while, when the trust sounds, she, with all who believe, will be raised or changed, and caught up in clouds to be
“Forever with the Lord.”