Sermon Illustrations

CLARA HALE ANSWERED THAT CLARION CALL IN A SIMILAR “DO OR DIE” KIND OF SPIRIT, CLAIRE SAFRAN WROTE A DEEPLY MOVING STORY ABOUT SEVENTY-NINE YEAR OLD, AND THE DRUG-ADDICTED INFANTS SHE CARED FOR IN HER HOME IN HARLEM.

D. IN AUTHOR BOB ITALIA’S 19993 BOOK: "CLARA HALE: MOTHER TO THOSE WHO NEEDED ONE" HE WRITES, “WHEN I FIRST MET CLARA HALE, SHE WAS SITTING IN AN OLD BENTWOOD ROCKER, TRYING TO SOOTHE A HURTING CHILD, SAYING, "I LOVE YOU AND GOD LOVES YOU, AND YOUR MOTHER LOVES YOU TOO, BUT YOUR MOTHER IS SICK RIGHT NOW, LIKE YOU ARE." SHE COAXES THE BABY TO NURSE AT A BOTTLE, AND AS SHE BATHES THE CHILD, SHE CROONS SOFTLY AND TRIES A LITTLE PATTY-CAKE GAME. "AFTER A WHILE, MAYBE YOU GET A SMILE, AND MAYBE YOU DON’T, SHE SAYS BUT NO MATTER WHAT, YOU JUST HAVE TO KEEP LOVING IT — AND YOU WAIT." MAMA HALE SPENT A LIFETIME CARING FOR OTHER WOMEN’S CHILDREN, IN A FIFTH-FLOOR WALK UP, AND SHE RAISED FORTY FOSTER CHILDREN AS WELL AS THREE OF HER OWN. SHE OPERATED A PLACE CALLED HALE HOUSE, WHICH IS A UNIQUE HAVEN IN THE HEART OF THE DRUG INFESTED DARKNESS OF NEW YORK AND SHE HAS CARED FOR 487 BABIES OF ADDICTS, OVER THE LAST TWENTY YEARS.”

G. THAT FACT ALONE, MAKES MAMA HALE QUALIFIED TO SAY WHAT JAMES MEANT WHEN HE SAID, —"HAVING A FAITH THAT WORKS" —WHICH IS A REFERENCE TO PRACTICAL CHRISTIANITY.

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