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On Friday, it was my turn to introduce the lesson at Bible Study. Now, people of all ages attend this thing, and last week's story was about Sarai and Hagar. So I didn't really want to talk about that, at least not in detail, but I still needed to introduce the theme. So I just made up a story. It's posted below in case you are one of my parents and therefore want to read it. Thanks to Alex for the photo collage.

Once upon a time, many years ago, there was a girl named Sarah. The most important thing in the world to her was her friend Helen. Helen and Sarah had been best friends since they were in kindergarten.
But the second most important thing in the world for Sarah was doing well in school so she could get into a good university, and hopefully go to medical school abroad.
She always worked hard, but she didn’t always get good grades. Especially in English. In fact, Sarah had been studying English for years, but she still felt like a failure.
She did OK on the writing, but she always had trouble with listening, and she got so nervous when she had to speak English aloud. It made her want to give up.
But she knew that if she wanted to study overseas, she would have to pass the TOEFL. So she couldn’t just give up on her English, because that test was way too important.
But one day, after failing another oral exam, Sarah came home in tears. “What’s wrong, honey?” her mother asked.
“I’m never going to pass the TOEFL!” Sarah sobbed. “I’m never going to study in America, and I’m never going to medical school.”
Sarah’s mother hugged her and said, “Honey, I’ve been praying for you. And I know that God is going to bless you and help you become a wonderful doctor. So don’t worry! Just keep doing your best, and he will do the rest.”
Sarah thought about this more and more as the day of the TOEFL testing came closer, and she kept doing poorly in English. Finally, one day, she thought of a shortcut around this scary test.
Sarah’s friend Helen was the star of the English class, and was also planning to take the TOEFL test. Although her family didn’t have much money, she got top grades, so she hoped to get a scholarship so she could go abroad.
At lunchtime, Sarah ran up to her. “Helen!” Sarah called. “Guess what? I’ve come up with a solution to your problem! You know how we both have to take the TOEFL? Well, if you take it first, I can help you pay for your plane ticket to go abroad when we graduate!”
Helen couldn’t believe her ears! It sounded too good to be true. “What do you want me to do?” she asked. Sarah smiled. “All you need to do is record the listening and speaking sections, and then give me the recording.”
Helen was shocked by Sarah’s idea. But almost immediately, the plan started to make sense. After all, it’s not like she would be the one cheating - she would just be doing a favor for Sarah - her best friend in the world.
On the day of the test, Helen felt a bit nervous about what she was doing, but she just took a deep breath and walked into the testing room, the recorder safely tucked into her pocket.
Halfway through the test, Helen had forgotten all about Sarah as she concentrated on thinking of the best answers she could. Then suddenly, she felt a hand on her shoulder.
She looked up to see a man looking at her with a serious expression on his face. He pointed at her pocket, and she could see the recorder’s red light blinking on and off.
Full of dread, she followed him to the back of the room. “I’m sorry, miss,” he said. “But you have to leave. And you need to give me that recorder.”
Helen called Sarah and told her what had happened. “What if they won’t let me take the test again?” she asked. “This is all your fault! Why did I listen to you?”
When Sarah hung up the phone, she felt so sad. She knew she would still be able to take the test, and if she studied very hard, she might still be able to fulfill her goal of becoming a doctor.
But she also knew that she had ruined her friendship with Helen, and that Helen’s dream of studying abroad might never come true. The end.

That was a really sad ending, wasn’t it? Well, the story we’re studying tonight is also really sad.
Tonight’s lesson is about a woman named Sarai whose story is actually a lot like the one I just told you.
God had promised Sarai and her husband Abram that their dreams would come true, and that she would have a baby.
But Sarai got tired of being patient, and waiting for God. She didn’t trust that this promise would really come true.
So she decided to take a shortcut. Instead of doing what God wanted, she took control of things herself.
And there is a big problem when we take control of ourselves. We are not as smart as God.
The Bible teaches us that God’s ways are higher than our ways. And it also tells us that he loves us, and he wants what is best for us.
So I hope this story will challenge you to trust and obey God. Even when it’s hard for us to see that he has a plan, He has promised us that he does.
And Abram and Sarai’s story shows us that even when we do try to take a shortcut, God will still have his way in the end.