Eye on
Sparrows
Jesus said, "Not even a sparrow, worth only
half a penny, can fall to the
ground without your Father
knowing it. And the very hairs on your head are
all
numbered."1
Dr. Paige Patterson tells how the renown
African-American singer, Ethel
Waters, known for her
ministry with Billy Graham Crusades, learned about
life
the hard way. Ethel said that, as a child, she always felt
lost and
like an outsider. She was born out of wedlock,
got into trouble
continuously. Ethel described it, "I
never was really a child, was never
liked or understood by
my family, never felt like I belonged, nobody brought
me
up. I ran wild as a little girl, was real bad, was leader of a
street
gang, and a general hell-raiser."
Rev.
Williams was preaching at a revival service to which Ethel was
invited.
On the last night, Ethel pleaded with God to
speak to her, which, to her was
to be God's last
chance.
The preacher spoke on the riches of Christ and
his ability to save anyone
from their sins. Something
happened--Christ "spoke" to Ethel and she
received Jesus
as her Savior and was soundly converted to Christianity. From
that experience she often sang the familiar words, "Why
should I feel
discouraged, why should the shadows come, /
Why should my heart be lonely,
and long for heaven and
home, / When Jesus is my portion? My constant friend
is
He; / His eye is on the sparrow, and I know He watches me; /
His eye is
on the sparrow, and I know He watches
me."2
