Sarah's Strengths

  Today we end our study of Sarah.  Let's look at her strengths and accomplishments.  She was faithful to Abraham, following him wherever he went. She bore Isaac, nursed him, and raised him in her old age.  She was loyal to Isaac and always wanted the best for him.  She became the mother of a nation and ancestor of Jesus.  She believed the promise even though all she ever saw was one son, Isaac, not the many who were to come.  For this she is listed in the "Faith Hall of Fame" in Hebrews 11.
  And her weaknesses?  She had trouble believing that the promise was for her.  She tried to work out her own solution to God's promise of a son by giving Hagar to Abraham.   She treated Hagar (and Ishmael?) badly.
  I guess like most of us Sarah is a mixed bag.  She does the best she can according to the way she understands.  She put her faith in God and her trust in Abraham.  These accomplishments were enough to put her into the "Faith Hall of Fame" and to qualify her as one of our mothers.  As Isaiah says, "Listen to me you who pursue righteousness and who seek the Lord:  Look to the rock from which you were cut and to the quarry from which you were hewn; look to Abraham your father and to Sarah, who gave you birth (Isaiah 51:1-2).
  For reflection:  Who are our mothers in the faith?  What strengths of theirs did we pick up?  How can we thank them?
  Let us pray.  Father, I thank you for the mothers I have had, both natural and supernatural.  I thank you for their strengths in . . . .

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