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President Barack Obama: Don’t Forget God
-Reported by Shauna Jamieson-Carty
Mrs. Marguerite White plans to be fixed in front of her television this Tuesday, watching the inauguration of the first African American President of the United States—and she would love to offer him some advice.
“Don’t forget God. Always put Him first. As long as we put Him first, we can make it,” she said.
By putting her faith in God, Sis. Marguerite endured the trials she has had to face. She was a child during the Great Depression, and she remembers how her family made much with the little they had.
“Everybody was so kindhearted,” she said. “All the neighbors helped each other.”
She remembers her parents being on welfare for some time. They would join the food line up at the firehouse to get flour, bread, and cans of food. If one neighbor missed out on the food line, the other neighbors would say, “Here. Take this.”
In 1946, she married Jack White, her lifelong friend who attended school with her and used to live across the street from her parents’ house. God blessed them with five daughters and a son, but Mr. White passed away when the children were young. After he passed, Sis. Marguerite moved back to her childhood home in Roselle, where her parents Harry and Cornelia Armstrong helped her raise her children.
Mrs. Cornelia Armstrong was a Deaconess at Second Baptist Church and remained active there until her passing in 1996. The program from her funeral service reads: “The Triumphant Homegoing Service of Deaconess Cornelia Armstrong” and reflects her reliance on God that she taught to her children and grandchildren. It reads: “Prayer was and is the sustaining force in our lives and ‘faith’ is the key that unlocks the door.” We walk by faith, not by sight. II Cor. 5:7
Sis. Marguerite suggests that President Obama must rely on God to guide him, as he inherits and tries to correct the problems that faced the Bush Administration. People have been losing their jobs and their homes today, just as she remembers they were during the Depression. She has observed that neighbors no longer seem friendly and willing to share.
“Everything is expensive,” she said. “The taxes are so high; you can barely pay them. Almost every time you get your paper, it gets higher and higher. I could cry.”
Without the help of her daughters—the third generation of the Armstrong family to live in their home—she could not afford to remain there.“I just pray: Lord, please help me,” she said.
Sis. Marguerite grew up attending school side by side with black and white students, playing with white friends. Yet, she said she was aware of prejudice and felt that discrimination could stop a black man from fulfilling his potential. As a result, she had not expected the historic results.
“I was very glad Obama got it,” she said. “No, I didn’t think it would ever happen. What a surprise! What a pleasant surprise! I was hollering with all the crowd and clapping and crying.”
She prayed and trusted in the Lord Jesus as she raised her six children, and she now prays daily for President Obama: “Lord, please help him. Please guide Him. Because we sure do need the Lord and He can fix things like nobody else can.”
Historical Note
An Inauguration Day Like No Other
Americans will travel from all over the country to attend the Inauguration of the first African American President of the United States—with or without an invitation. Private individuals and churches have organized bus rides into Washington, D.C. Employees plan to take the day off from work. Some parents plan to take their children out of school, so families can be together to watch the event. Many schools and offices will be closed on the day before Inauguration Day to observe Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s Birthday. The election of President Barack Obama is a fulfillment of Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King’s dream.
Second Baptist Church will hold an Inauguration Brunch in the Fellowship Hall on Tuesday, January 20, 2009, beginning at 10:45 a.m. Members of our church family will bring refreshments and gather to watch the historic event together on big screen TV.
Prayer Point: We pray that God would guide our nation and protect President Barack Obama, his wife First Lady Michelle, their daughters Sasha and Malia, and their grandmother, in Jesus’ name. Amen
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