Ok, quick recap of what God has been up to in my fundraising journey.
So I never did a post on it, but you may know from a previous post that I lost (or had stolen) my wallet with $400+ inside. At this point, all money coming through my hands is considered Race money, even if not given to me specifically for the Race. You might also have read that I got almost all of it back in donations within a week. Wont He do it?! Keep reading.
In my last post I told you all about how my car was towed and I wrapped it up with “What a Blessing in the end.” but guess what; that wasn’t the end. Come to find out, they charged me money to tow my car AND to store it in their lot each day. So I had to pay something instead of just not being able to sell or donate the car. When I heard that, I was tempted to get down and see what happened as less than a blessing, but something ion me welled up and said “NO, it is a blessing when you can see how it is, and when you can’t see, because all things work together for good to them that love God” and that is that. With $200+ tow charges in your face though, things feel differently, but I persevered and refused myself the chance to take the glory from God. Then a close friend of mine came to town and her plans got jumbled up, so she wanted something to do. We ended up going to the awesome buffet at a Casino here in San Diego, and we both took $40-$50 for the slots experience. She had never been to a casino before, and I had only been to one twice. The buffet is a huge draw, but slots are pretty fun too, even though you know you’ll probably lose your money. We saw it as paying for the experience. So we bounce from machine to machine mostly losing money until she says “my palm is itching” and I start laughing because we are still losing money so out the door with that superstition. I suggest we change machines since those two were losing too much. We get up and walk for just a second and a pair of machines catch her eye. We sit down and she begins winning really well, so I sit and start playing too. Needless to say, she walked away with $185, and I walked away with $300! Now whether you believe gambling is always a sin, or not (like myself, but that is another discussion), you have to agree that GOD IS GOOD! This was enough to pay all of the tow/storage fees for my car, and I signed it over to the car lot yesterday. After all of the struggle to believe it was a blessing, God didn’t allow my undesirable circumstances to drain money out of my Race funds. The lesson is a blessing in itself! I remember how Lazarus was allowed to die for the purpose of Jesus raising him, as Jesus said. Faith is grown like a seed, and sometimes the waters that seem like they might drown the seed just need time to sink into the surrounding soil to make a perfect environment for the seed to flourish. NEXT!
One of my supporters wrote to me saying when he heard about me going on the Race that God had impressed upon him to donate $200. He said when he went to donate, he was hesitant and decided to just donate $100. He swears that he did not press the button twice, but somehow it charged him $100 twice (I confirmed it in my donations today). He said “So remember that somebody is looking after you and its not me”. I can’t help but praise God because in the end, this ALL belongs to Him! It’s not mine because I earned it, deserved it, am worth it, etc. It is on loan to me to multiply for God’s purposes and I hope and pray to turn these 16,000 green sheets of paper and ink into faith, hope, love, encouragement, peace, redemption, purpose, rest, and reconciliation for the masses of people I have the opportunity to meet and serve during the Race.
When I began writing this, I had been having a bit of a bad few days of worry and doubt about the Race and if I could really do this. It was like Eve in the the garden when the enemy said “Did God really say that?” This is a reoccurring theme in my pre-Race journey, but remembering the faithfulness of God in just the last few weeks has shown me I need to do this more often. God is faithful, God is good! Be encouraged in whatever place you find yourself in life at this moment. Our God is faithful!
