Sarah (the Saint)

Usually on Saturday morning, a friend and I meet for Bible study at a local restaurant. There’s always plenty of coffee! A waitress by the name of Sarah is often our server. She’s in her early 40s, possesses a very up-beat personality, and is excellent in her service. She is also a single mother of two young boys.

Recently, Sarah and I were chatting, and I asked her how her sons were doing. At that point, the conversation took an unexpected turn. Sarah said, “Well, I adopted these boys thirteen years ago. They’re really my nephews, my sister’s children. She lost custody due to her drug addiction. I couldn’t allow them to go into foster care. They have ‘special needs.’ The only way to prevent foster placement was to adopt them, so I did it!”

For over a year, I had been in contact with a person who loves like Jesus, but I didn’t realize it. Sarah’s love provided a safe, secure home for these boys. Her love for them saved them from a hard and dark life. She loves them more than she loves herself. That’s Christ-like love.

It’s easy to love someone when it’s convenient; it’s very difficult to love someone when it’s inconvenient (the cross was inconvenient for Christ Jesus). Sarah has put those boys before herself. She’s never married. This deep, sacrificial love can be very painful and costly, but that communicates even more clearly how deep it is. Amazing!

Sarah is now one of my heroes… I’d like to be like her. It’s a struggle for me to love my family, friends, my neighbors like Jesus—but I’d like to. It’s a long, tough process, but the rewards are tremendous and eternal. Thank you for your thoughts and prayers in this process.

“Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” 1 John 3:18

A fellow struggler,

Leon Alderman, CDR, USN (Ret.)