I’ve been putting off this blog for a couple weeks now. I have been praying and turning over ideas in my head on how to present what God did in my life during fundraising before training camp. I guess I’ve just been at a loss for words honestly. How does that kind of stuff even happen? How I am I worthy of it all? My words can’t even do Him justice. So I’ll keep it short and sweet. (Sort of……)
About two weeks before my first deadline of $3,500 I had about $1,200 in my trip account and I was still in need of all my equipment. I honestly did not think it was going to happen. Maybe God wanted me to defer to a later route? I was swimming in fear, doubt, and anxiety. BUT GOD!
Like I said…..I’m just going to cut right to the chase!
The Wednesday and first day of my garage sale God turned things around. He started by speaking directly to my heart. A woman from church who is currently not receiving any income and also recently lost her husband had been communicating with me about the trip and how she wished she could contribute. This woman is a prayer warrior so trust me when I told her that her prayers were the biggest thing she could give! Well that Wednesday night my dad came home and started telling me a story about how that night a woman approached him and explained to him that she knew it wasn’t a lot but that she felt the Lord tell her to give a gift towards my trip. She said it was the true “widow’s mite.” My dad then handed me a $100 bill and told me who it was from. My heart burst! Here I was drowning in disbelief and God used “the least of these” to bless my socks off. Little did I know that this was just the beginning of the literal miracle God would do in my life.
That week I was doing a garage sale and dog/house sitting. The garage sale went great for the first two days and slowed down the last two. (Friday/Saturday) I had INCREDIBLE support from people who willingly donated items for me to sell and overall the garage sale produced $700! One of the coolest things that happened was that my pastor donated brand new rims that were originally over $150 a piece and allowed me to sell them at $50 a piece. That brought in an automatic $200! Amazing!
Friday night during this crazy week I went to our young adults service that we have once a month. They had been supporting me through a missions offering for several months and so after I packed up the garage sale I jumped in the car to church. Service was great and they took the offering. I had to dip early that night but hadn’t eaten all day so I went and fixed a plate of the infamous after party food. (Don’t hate!) On my way out the door one of the staff stopped me and was said “Oh hey! Looks like they wrote it down wrong, but it looks like you got $111 tonight, that’s awesome!” I said “that’s great!” It was a Friday night and there wasn’t a huge crowd there. I think it is incredible that they were allowing an offering to be taken up in the first place. So I leave the chapel and go fix myself a plate. A meatball sub slider was in the process of being made when my friend burst in the door, “Lydia……..that wasn’t a mistake….It wasn’t $111, it was $1,011!!!” Cue inappropriate, sleep deprived, and food deprived sobbing! Yes…….sobbing! There I was…..meatball slider in hand, weeping at the utter shock and amazement of God’s grace and mercy. Someone had written a fat check. I still do not know who it was so I want to use the venue to thank whoever you are from the bottom of my heart. Not only are you sending me on this journey of advancing God’s kingdom, but you allowed God to strengthen my faith and show me that He is for me. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
So how would you feel if I told you that this isn’t where the crazy stuff ends? There’s still a whole other 24 hours to this mess!
Saturday morning I began setting up for the final day of the garage sale. I was pulling out all the decorative type items when I reached into a box and pulled out a stack of plates. As I pulled them out of the box something falls out of them with a “thud.” I stood frozen in shock……On the table was a stack of $100 bills wrapped in a bank note. Hands trembling I pick it up and count………..1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10………*gulp*… “Dad…….Dad!!!! uhhhhh…” (Not my brightest moment.)
“No way! That’s $1,000! Where did you get this? It just fell out?” Lots of freaking out followed but then the realization of, “Wait a minute…..no one would have dropped this with hopes of me picking this up.” My heart sank with the realization that this was somebody’s hard earned savings that must’ve been stashed. Long story short I find the plates it was in, call up the lady who donated them, and ask if they might have had some cash stashed away. The sweet lady told me she wished it was their contribution but that her mother who donated the plates was actually known for stashing cash around the house and must’ve forgotten it was there.
Here’s the truth…………in that moment before calling them we had the option of not doing the right thing. And oddly enough…it never even crossed my mind that the money shouldn’t have been returned. Jesus was moving in my heart that day because I genuinely wanted and believed that money needed to be returned. Come to find out, the woman it belonged to had just received a bill from the doctor for her husband who has cancer. This cash was so timely for her. It was a MIRACLE that I found the stash even though several people had picked up those plates all week at the garage sale.
When she came to pick up the money my friend brought her daughter. We exchanged hugs and conversed for some time about the Lord. By the end of the conversation the woman’s daughter was so impressed with our honesty she wrote me a $350 check on the spot!!! Isn’t God good? From the very beginning my dad had been saying “Either this is a miracle or a test.” BUT IT DOESN’T STOP THERE.
The day was ending and I had packed up the garage sale. I had a few things left to do that day when an old friend from high school messaged me and said he was going to swing by after work and drop off a donation. We had been communicating for a while and I knew he wanted to contribute and planned on it the next time he was home from college. What I remember about him is that he was always kind to me in whatever brief interactions we had and was not like all the other guys at school. I honestly wish I had known him better, but that’s just the way things are when we’re young and awkward! So when I heard that he wanted to give a gift I was so pleasantly surprised by his willingness to serve.
He pulls up to the house and we start chatting and catching up the best we can. He tells me about his passion for missions and how when he heard what I was doing that he knew he wanted to do something. It was so refreshing and I was so impressed by his faith and again his willingness to be a part of something so much bigger than him or I. We wrap up the conversation and he says “Well give me a big hug!” and he hands me an envelope. I walk inside as he pulls off and I begin busying myself with cleaning and it took me a minute before I remembered the envelope in my pocket. I pull it out and open it up. Inside I see bills…..lots of bills! I pull out the stack of cash and start counting……………1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11,12,13,14…..14!! All fresh and crisp $100 bills……….WHAAAAAAT?!!!
I WAS WRECKED! I began weeping because it was in that moment that I knew God was not playing around. He was saying “You ARE going!” There was all that built up fear and anxiety that all came flooding out with the realization that God had done a literal miracle. He a made a way when there wasn’t one. Isn’t God good?! Why do we doubt? Why do we worry? Is He not a God of His word?
My faith was made stronger. I now know that no matter what the situation may be that God don’t play. When He says something, speaks a dream into your heart, He WILL see it come to pass.
I immediately messaged my friend:
Me: “This is so insane man! My God!!! I feel so unworthy of this gift! I should have squeezed the mess out of you! You just … Man I don’t even have words right now. Wow, wow, wow. This is such a huge blessing I could never repay. God bless you man. I’m just in complete shock. God is so good. You got me and my family in tears. Can’t thank you enough right now!!!”
Him: “God provides. It was His money in the first place, and that’s where I believe he was telling me to use it. You can repay by just living it out. Keep doing big things! Can’t wait to hear all about it!”
Me: “Just wanted to clear that with you before I shared it with my church and in my blog.”
Him: “I appreciate you checking, I’m completely okay with that. It may be just what someone needs to hear to get someone to do something that they have been on the fence with God about!”
“You can repay me by just living it out.” Wow! These words still ring in my head. When fear and doubt begin to creep in I remember that moment when God showed up and showed out. It is so humbling that God is sending ME to be His hands and feet. I can’t believe that He wants to use me to build His kingdom here on earth. It is an honor that I hope I never take lightly.
“It may be just what someone needs to hear to get someone to do something that they have been on the fence with God about!”
Is there something God has been speaking to you about that you have allowed to lay dormant in your heart? Maybe He’s waiting to unleash a torrent of provision and blessing. Maybe you are one step of faith away from a breakthrough. I believe it! No matter what the circumstance. Like I’ve heard before…. Stop telling God how big your mountains are and tell the mountains how big your God is!
By the grace of God I went from having a third of my first deadline to having a third of the entire trip cost! There is still a big sum left to raise, but I have no doubt that God will make a way. Thank you for every prayer, every dollar, every word of encouragement, and every hug you all have given!
PS!
Here’s the kicker……….when I gave that $1,000 back to its owner and then recieved $350 back from it, I actually didn’t “lose” anthing. When I recieved $1,400 from my high school friend I recieved double what I returned in honesty! WON’T HE DO IT?!
I am beyond amazed at God’s power. He is a miracle working Father!
