Sarai Book Review...and then some.

Have you ever felt like God was taking…well….too long fulfilling His promises to you? How about feeling ‘old’ every time you look at your children and see them growing faster and faster before your very eyes? Join me in a reading journey through the book, “Sarai” written by Jill Eillen Smith, and experience the trials that build character, strength, patience, and joy, as well as endurance, faith, and a relationship with God who indeed keeps His promises. Through “Sarai” we learn that there are consequences for the decisions we make, good or bad, and although God is a God of mercy, He will let us learn lessons the hard way sometimes.
Sarai was the most beautiful woman in her city. Abram was blessed, until they discovered her barrenness. It would seem her beauty would be the only thing Sarai had going for her, even through the years that aged her and her husband, Abram. Didn’t God promise Sarai and her husband a son? Did God not say to her husband, “I will make you a great nation.”? Sarai wished for the faith her husband had, but her time had run out. Children would not be born to a barren womb, and most definitely not to one that no longer had life within.
Sarai’s love for Abram pushed her into difficult decisions, ones that she knew she should not make, yet felt compelled to do so. Unable to wait any longer for the promise that God had made to Abram, Sarai gave to her husband her maid, Hagar, in hopes that the promised son would come by way of their union.
Imagine the struggle Sarai faced every day, looking into the eyes of the servant girl who carried the baby Sarai longed for many, many years. With the pregnancy came the resentment of Hagar toward her mistress. Sarai knew she had made a mistake, but her realization had come too late. Regardless, God did fulfill His promise to Abram and Sarai, giving them a son of their blood together, and Abram did become the father of a great nation, two of them, in fact. But the promise did not come without consequences. Sarai had to live with her choices for the rest of her life, as did her people for many generations to come.
Is the story of Sarai a sad one? No. Sarai’s story is victorious. Her story is also full of many lessons learned. There is a little of Sarai in every woman: Beauty, strength, loyalty, and some old fashion determination. Sarai just teaches us women today that we also need to have some humility, and give it to God’s hands, our struggles, trials, anger, jealousy, and idle time. Hopefully none of us will have to be 90 when we see God’s promises given to us, or when we finally learn our lessons in life, but take to heart Sarai, her life, her testimony, and her legacy.
Sarai is one of many books in the Wives of the Patriarchs series, and I will be getting my hands on the other books as soon as possible!
I actually got this book on amazon.com for free on my Kindle app on my phone. I am so glad I downloaded it, and I look forward to the other books I have on my Kindle now, waiting to be read!