If there was ever a woman who I believe was exactly what God intended for her to be, it would be Sarah Taylor. From a very early age, I was impressed with her deep knowledge of God's word. She loved God, she loved to share that love with others, and she was devoted to Bible study. It showed.
I loved being in Ladies' Bible classes taught by Sis. Taylor, and the things she taught me have stayed with me. I also loved to just visit with her. Her husband was one of our elders, and in my mind, there was no other family as wonderful as the Taylors. They had two daughters and a son, who were my friends, and I remember how close they were as a family. I remember observing how they would "huddle up" when their children left for college, and have family prayer together. And I remember being at their house one day when their oldest daughter arrived home from out-of-state for the holidays. Her brother and I met her in the driveway, and she couldn't get past us fast enough - she said, "I wanna see my mama!" I loved that.
Her son ended up going to Texas A&M, where he had a roommate named Jeff. Thanks to some matchmaking skills that Hal implemented, Jeff became my husband. Whenever Jeff would visit me, he usually stayed overnight at the Taylor's home. The weekend he came to propose to me, he stayed there, and the next week when I went over to return the key, Sis. Taylor was home alone. She told me to come in and sit down, that she wanted to talk to me. And talk she did! She cared deeply that Jeff and I get our marriage started off in the best possible way. She gave me a stack of books to read, and told me to pass them on to Jeff when I was finished reading them. Thanks to her love and thoughtfulness, our transition into marriage came very easily.
After we were married, we used to tease Hal that since he introduced us, we WOULD name our first child after him, but he would have to change his name. (His full name is Harold Edwin.) Instead, we chose to name our firstborn daughter Sarah, after one of the greatest women I've ever known. By giving our Sarah that name, my hope was that she would grow up to be just like the inspiration for her name.
The Taylors moved to Florida before our girls were born. They made a trip to Texas when the girls were little, and came by our house to meet them. Then, several years later we made a trip to Florida, and we spent an afternoon with the Taylors so that Sarah could meet and spend some time with Sarah. It warmed my heart to be able to do that.
Sis. Taylor is now in her 90's, and I've heard that her mind is not quite as sharp as it once was. But I continue to think of her often, and thank God for her influence in my life, which cannot be measured. She is someone I've always wanted to be like, because she always gave God and His cause her very best. Without her family, I probably never would've met Jeff, and I truly feel like God's providence played a part in all of that. Sis. Taylor will probably never fully know how much good she's done in this world - especially in my world.
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