Sarah S
umpolec, one of the authors on Girls, God, and the Good Life, was on the Tyra Banks show in January. She was featured with several people who believed in wicca, satanism, and witchcraft. Sarah was interviewed because she practiced solitary witchcraft as a teen.
umpolec, one of the authors on Girls, God, and the Good Life, was on the Tyra Banks show in January. She was featured with several people who believed in wicca, satanism, and witchcraft. Sarah was interviewed because she practiced solitary witchcraft as a teen. Later she found truth, and put away (burned) all of the things that once seemed like power to her. She found that knowing Christ took her down a road of destiny, instead of darkness.
As she shared her testimony on national TV, I sat in my living room and cheered her on. What I should have been doing is praying for my friend.
The backlash has been huge. I visited her website and the sheer amount of comments from those who believe in wicca and satanism has been overwhelming.
And yet Sarah continues to hold up the "light" of her faith as she responds with truth, with compassion, and with integrity. I was angry for her as I read some of the statements calling her a fraud or insisting that she was on the Tyra Banks show for publicity.
You see, I know Sarah. She's more than just a name to me. She's a friend. She's real. She's smart. She's incredibly funny. Most of all, she loves Jesus and it shows in her life, and in her writing, and in her relationships.
So, I'm asking you to join me today in praying for Sarah Sumpolec. Ask God to protect her, and to give her wisdom, but most of all to walk beside her as she speaks to new friends (and those who don't want to be friends) about an amazing God.
Prayer: Father I pray for Sarah today. I ask that you encourage her. I pray that you give her exactly the right words to say. I pray that she will celebrate with you the one or two or hundreds that respond to what she had to say, and allow you to influence their life and destiny. You never promised that when we spoke truth that it would always be positive. Lord, you showed us that truth might not be received by all, and yet you continued. Be with Sarah, wrap your arms around your beautiful daughter today, and may we be encouragers to her also. In your powerful and precious name. Amen
5 comments:
I join you in prayers for Sarah. I find it hard to stand in front of a room full of fellow Christians and talk about something we all agree on. I cannot fathom the intestinal fortitude it took to go on TV and speak as Sarah did, with integrity, love, and conviction. Praise God. I know Sarah would agree that God provided her with His Grace. And I pray for those who condemn her. Because they are exactly "who" needs to hear the message.
I'm also praying for Sarah. May God continue to fill her with His Holy Courage. My His Joy be her Strength.
We love you, Sarah.
♥Julie
Totally praying for you. I find when I read the comments on your personal blog, I feel...ick. I feel mad for you at some of the ridiculous cheap shots, but mostly I feel...I don't know. I know just reading those comments puts us in touch with the reality of evil, so I cannot even imagine what it would have felt like to be on that Tyra stage, chair to chair with people who are so against God. I am proud of you and your courage and your obedience to Christ. You, girl, have been chosen for such a time as this. Keep praying, girls!
What a strong woman! I agree with Mrs. Paul...It's hard enough to stay what we think when people agree with us. The comments that were posted on her web site were hard enough for me to read. Stay Strong!
"If it takes fifteen times to hear about Jesus
for someone to believe
I've got to make a difference
cuz, I may be the third, may be the seventh
But what if I'm fifteen" --Greg Long
For Sarah,
I did not see the Tyra Banks interview, but having read about it here and elsewhere, I know the backlash you're experiencing must be brutal. As someone who practiced solitary witchcraft myself for a short while in my teens, my heart is with you, Sarah. And like you, I was jeered when I dared to mention my deliverance from it in my personal testimony. In the 60s, witchcraft was considered no more than tomfoolery by most people and even the Church did not take it seriously. However I was introduced to it by an article on occult practices in my Girl Scout Magazine, which included, among other things, love spells and ways of supposedly contacting the dead. Unfortunately it seems a great deal of today's fantasy fiction is heavily pagan, probably a part of the reason why it's difficult for Christian writers to break into the fantasy genre.
BTW, I am aware of a fast growing wiccan "community" in the Chicago area, but I have no doubt the same can be said about many other metro communities. Close Christian friends of mine have had some very negative experiences as a result of confronting wiccan practices, so I know the threat is real.
God bless you and keep you, Sarah.
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