You Don't Depend On People
Stories
Sharing Visions
Divine Revelations, Angels, And Holy Coincidences
Names and places in the following account have been changed to protect the guilty.
Sadie was a schoolteacher in Smalltown, Wisconsin, about fifty years ago. She attended Smalltown Methodist Church. Her home sat just outside the town limits.
In the county were a dozen or so one-room schools and several more that had multiple classes meeting together. It was Sadie's dream to consolidate the schools in the county to provide better resources for the educational process. Most of her neighbors, however, loved their little local one-room schools and were not very helpful in her drive to consolidate. Sadie was indefatigable and worked with the county school board and anyone who would listen to her dream. Eventually, she was successful and a large, well-equipped consolidated school was built in Smalltown, much to the chagrin of those who opposed it.
One night Sadie's house caught fire. She tried to douse the flames, but the fire got out of control. The Smalltown Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call made by one of Sadie's neighbors. The fire truck drove right up to the Smalltown town limits and stopped some twenty feet away from the house. Instead of going to work extinguishing the fire, these good volunteer fire department church people sat on the hood of their truck and watched the house burn.
Sadie went from person to person in the crowd, pleading, "Everything I own is in that house. Please help me save it. At least, help me get some of my things out of the house." The good church people watching the fire said things like, "Why don't you ask the school board to help you?" and "Neighbors help neighbors, but you didn't think about that when you were bent and determined on consolidating our schools." They watched her house burn to the ground, then left her standing beside the smoking ruins in her nightgown as they returned to their homes.
But there's more to the story. Sadie did not move away. She was in church the following Sunday in her regular place. She continued to attend church there and taught school in Smalltown. She retired from teaching when she was seventy years old, and the school had a great celebration, honoring her as the founder of their great school. When she was 75 years old, the church gave her a testimonial as one of the church pillars. She was still active at the age of 86, when I served the church there. She told me the story (confirmed by several church members) and said, "You don't depend on people in life. You simply seek God's help, and he [sic] will provide."
Sadie was a schoolteacher in Smalltown, Wisconsin, about fifty years ago. She attended Smalltown Methodist Church. Her home sat just outside the town limits.
In the county were a dozen or so one-room schools and several more that had multiple classes meeting together. It was Sadie's dream to consolidate the schools in the county to provide better resources for the educational process. Most of her neighbors, however, loved their little local one-room schools and were not very helpful in her drive to consolidate. Sadie was indefatigable and worked with the county school board and anyone who would listen to her dream. Eventually, she was successful and a large, well-equipped consolidated school was built in Smalltown, much to the chagrin of those who opposed it.
One night Sadie's house caught fire. She tried to douse the flames, but the fire got out of control. The Smalltown Volunteer Fire Department responded to a call made by one of Sadie's neighbors. The fire truck drove right up to the Smalltown town limits and stopped some twenty feet away from the house. Instead of going to work extinguishing the fire, these good volunteer fire department church people sat on the hood of their truck and watched the house burn.
Sadie went from person to person in the crowd, pleading, "Everything I own is in that house. Please help me save it. At least, help me get some of my things out of the house." The good church people watching the fire said things like, "Why don't you ask the school board to help you?" and "Neighbors help neighbors, but you didn't think about that when you were bent and determined on consolidating our schools." They watched her house burn to the ground, then left her standing beside the smoking ruins in her nightgown as they returned to their homes.
But there's more to the story. Sadie did not move away. She was in church the following Sunday in her regular place. She continued to attend church there and taught school in Smalltown. She retired from teaching when she was seventy years old, and the school had a great celebration, honoring her as the founder of their great school. When she was 75 years old, the church gave her a testimonial as one of the church pillars. She was still active at the age of 86, when I served the church there. She told me the story (confirmed by several church members) and said, "You don't depend on people in life. You simply seek God's help, and he [sic] will provide."
