About Sarah:

Sarah radiantly embodied innocence, purity, and joy. Her precious innocent spirit loved to frolic in the fictional stories of bygone eras, her very favorite being that of Little Women by Louisa May Alcott. Her purity was exemplified on earth through her rich and pure love for her family and friends, but most of all her unpolluted, unwavering, and relentless love for Jesus Christ, her personal Lord and Savior. She lived and breathed to know Him and to make Him known. Her family is blessed by her prolific journaling, chronicling a heart in passionate pursuit of Him. 

Sarah was on a mission to Botswana to share the love of Christ with whoever God assigned to her, but she was specifically looking forward to sharing Him with children. When others expressed concern about her going so very far from home, she quickly responded full of faith, “I have prayed and I know God has called me to it, so whatever happens is within His will.” 

At lunch the day before she went home to our Lord and Savior, she was discussing the faith of our persecuted brothers and sisters in Egypt after the most recent mass martyring. She recalled reading the entirety of Jesus Freaks by DC Talk, and how profoundly that impacted her. She said she used to worry that she would not have the courage to stand for Him like the martyrs in the book, but she finally understood it is Him who enabled them to stand, and He would do so for her as well.

Sweet Sarah took that final stand of fearless faith and surrender as she once again journaled out of the overflow of a heart surrendered to our heavenly Father and Lord Jesus Christ only moments before she stood in His presence. And she was, indeed, found faithful as she took her rank among those who previously inspired her so.

Scripture that encouraged us:

Scripture was a lifeline for us following Sarah’s death, the first one that comes to her father’s mind is Psalm 34:18. We felt His presence so closely, almost tangibly in the early days of overwhelming grief.  

“The LORD is near to the brokenhearted And saves those who are crushed in spirit.” Psalm 34:18 NASB95

For Sarah’s mother Hebrews 10:37 comes to mind first. Other verses ministered to us prior to this one, but this one we still hold tightly to seven years later. In every painful moment or circumstance it gives us blessed encouragement that it is just a little while longer. He could come any moment now, and this entire earthly lifetime is just a wisp that appears and vanishes in comparison to the glorious eternity yet to come (Jam. 4:14).

“In just a little while, he who is coming will come and will not delay.” Hebrews 10:37 NIV

How we’ve seen God’s faithfulness:

Through His promised nearness in our suffering we have come to know Him more intimately than ever before. His daily tender mercies toward us have been felt as He faithfully encourages us through His Word, and through the love and kindness of friends and strangers. We also clearly saw and felt His hand in the first months of her absence each time a special note or memento left by Sarah was discovered at just the right moment to uniquely bless and encourage our weary hearts. 

We obviously wish Sarah was here with us, we are not thankful for her death, but we are indescribably grateful for all God has taught us through it. We’re not who we were before she left, we have been and are continuing to grow and be transformed through the sorrow of her absence: A precious, priceless, and beautiful fulfillment of His promise in Romans 8:28.