Change of Mind
Time for a confession: I have changed my mind…
No not on whether or not I’m going on The World Race. I know that I have been called to that but I’m just gonna say it…I will never be able to think in the same way again.
To be honest: The most dreaded part of this trip for me has been the whole fundraising thing. I’ve never really been into that whole “begging” mentality…that’s how I viewed it at least. I have grown up with a family who values a hard work ethic and loves to give to others. I have never been one to go around asking people for a handout. It all seemed so selfish to me.
I think the reason I have had such a hard time and an uneasy feeling about fundraising is the way it causes people to treat others around them. I’ve seen myself and other people in the past begin to:
View people as a means to an end
Get offended if people don’t give to their cause
Be consumed with what they are doing to the point that it seems that what others are doing is not as valid
Get discouraged and doubt the truth that if the Lord has called you to it than He will provide for it
Feel rejected
Feel entitled to receive what people have worked so hard for themselves
Any time I feel my mind going in any of those directions I find myself immediately pulling back. Therefore, my efforts to “fundraise” have been pretty terrible!
Now let me preface by saying, I don’t think that all who are fundraising deal with these thoughts; I’m saying this is what I have dealt with and have experienced in the past.
Well I was becoming quite discouraged, to say the least, about the lack of funds coming in. I could feel my frustration beginning to block my creative flow which made it all the more frustrating. When all of the sudden revelation came…I don’t quite know the moment that it came but all the sudden the passage from I Corinthians 13 came to my mind: “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be an annoying noise. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing….Let love be your highest goal!”
Let love be the highest goal! My highest goal is no longer to raise $15,500. My highest goal is not to travel around the world changing nations with The World Race. My highest goal is not even to preach the gospel. It’s quite clear in God’s word what the most important goal should be: TO LOVE! So that’s what I’m going to do.
As far as fundraising goes…I’m not going to do that anymore. Yep I said it. I’m not…instead I’m going to host events or provide a product that will give me a chance to connect with people on a personal level in order for me to meet their need. As I connect and meet their need if they feel like they should/or want to give then PRAISE THE LORD!!!!
I will not be the person that looks at someone and says, “What can I get from you and how can I get it?” but instead “What can I do for you and how can we connect?”
At the end of my life (whenever that may be) I want to look back and say I learned to love. I’m not going to say I learned how to do ministry, I learned how to raise money, I was able to travel around the world and build houses for people and teach them a trade or give them food. While all these things are all good they are perishable and meaningless without LOVE!
What a stress reliever! What peace! What feeling of purpose I have received to now know that love is my highest goal. My dependency is not on what man can give me. My dependency is on God and His faithfulness and example of true love:
This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. 1 John 4:10
He gave and continues to give. He loved and continues to love. He forgave and continues to forgive. So my desire is to learn how to give, how to love, and how to forgive just as He does. Love is my highest goal.
I realize that this is a tough message! It’s not all chocolates and roses because loving people can be hard but it will always be purposeful and have meaning.
I am so excited to connect with and love my squadmates and to connect and love on the people that I will be able to meet in the countries we are going to on The World Race! I'm so pumped but I'm not going to wait until then 
! I choose to love and connect with all that I come in contact every day!
God is faithful and so amazing! Thank you God for giving me a change of mind!
