The Wisdom of Sarah

"Remember: don't fight back, keep on stepping and

let God fight your battles, and win them."

Sarah Carter Perry Brown

Sarah Carter Perry Brown

1903-2011

She was born Sarah Frances,

the second daughter of the Reverend Thomas Carter

and his wife, Channie, and named after her

maternal grandmother, Sarah Frances Hand,

on December 10, 1903 in Jeffersonville, Georgia.

The Carters were a close knit family. 

Sarah's father was a farmer who raised pigs

and chickens, as well as crops like

collard greens, string beans, corn,

peanuts, tomatoes, and grew peach trees.

Sarah, who attended a local school until

the third grade, when she had to quit to work on her

father's farm, remembered, "It was a different

time, but God was surely protecting us and leading us."

However, Sarah was born in the time of the segregated South,

where the harassment and murders of black Americans
 by members of the notorious Ku Klux Klan
 happened on a regular basis.

One Sunday morning while walking home from church,

young Sarah was chased by members of the Klan.

Fortunately, her brother, Thomas Hezekiah, heard

his sister's cries for help and came to her rescue.

With growing concerned for their safety, 

 Reverend Carter eventually left the South, taking his

 family from rural Georgia to Pennsylvania to live in

 the city of Philadelphia.  Although the move was a

hard one for Sarah and her family, they knew

God was with them on the journey.

Even after the Great Depression took all of

Reverend Carter's savings out of the bank, he

still managed to have enough money to eventually

move his family to southern New Jersey, and

the sleepy little community of Monroeville,

where he built a new home and started 

another farm, not too far from where 

his oldest daughter, Maud, lived with her husband.

Meanwhile, Sarah, who was married to her 

first husband at the time, lived for awhile

in Philadelphia, and later in Passaic, in northern New Jersey,

before she eventually moved to South Jersey.

"We didn't have a whole lot, but we had the Lord,"

Sarah remembered, We had faith. We had spirit.

Our family prayed together, worked together,

and stayed together. We were taught to put God

first in everything."

I first learned about this remarkable woman's story 

after reading the book written about her  

 by her grand-niece, Caryl R. Lucas, entitled, 

"Aunt Sarah's Recipes For A Long And
Spirit-Filled Life. Wisdom and Soulful
Lessons From A 105-Year-Old Matriarch".

Throughout her long life, Sarah relied heavily

on her faith in the Lord Jesus Christ and the infallible

wisdom found in the Word of God to see her and her family

through life's struggles and storms.

Despite her busy daily schedule cooking for
  her large family and working on the farm, 

 Sarah firmly believed in starting each day
 giving praise and glory

to God for all His blessings in her life.

As the oldest member of Emmanuel Baptist Church

 located in my hometown of Glassboro, New Jersey,

Sarah rarely missed Sunday services.

According to her niece, Caryl, heads would turn to

see her aunt walking into church wearing her beautiful suits

and elegant hats. Her unique sense of style 

 not only lit up the sanctuary, but, her 

unshakable faith in God was an inspiration,

both to her pastor and many of her
 fellow church members alike.

 Sarah believed in allowing the light of

Christ to shine through her for His glory.

It was not always easy, however, especially when dealing 
 with difficult people, or racial prejudice, or even

jealous and gossipy members of her church.

I am sure this godly woman had to bite her tongue

more than once after a rude or unkind remark was said to

or about her, but Sarah remained steadfast to her cause

 for Jesus, which is, that it is far better to sow good seeds 

 in your words or deeds, because eventually a good seed,

 planted at the right moment, will in turn  

 produce an abundant spiritual harvest for
the glory of the kingdom of God.

Sarah was a fabulous cook, known for her

delicious, down home recipes for southern fried chicken, 

potato salad, collard greens, and flaky biscuits, not to

 mention delightful desserts like sweet potato pie and

peach cobbler.

Her niece's book records some of Sarah's own recipes

that I definitely want to try out now that I have found

this wonderful book again after finding 
the right box of books it was stored in
after moving to my present home.

But far more importantly, the love and wisdom portrayed

within this ordinary woman's extraordinary spirit-filled life

remains a deep inspiration and encouragement

to me in my own daily walk of faith.

"We walk by faith, not by sight."

2 Corinthians 5:7

"I've kept my mind on Jesus. God has sure

been good to me. If I had a thousand tongues,

I couldn't thank Him enough."

Sarah Carter Brown

Above quotes by Sarah Carter Brown were taken
from the book, "Aunt Sarah's Recipes For A Long And Spirit-Filled Life
Wisdom And Soulful Lessons From A 105-Year-Old Matriarch"
Copyright 2009 by Caryl R. Lucas