You know something funny? I’m not sure why deadlines exist.
Right now, I’m preparing a World Race squad for the start of their trip in January, and their first deadline for fundraising was $3,500 this Monday. As in, this past Monday. As in, not even half of them have $3,500 currently in their fundraising account.
They each have to raise a total of $15,500 to go on the World Race, and the majority of my conversations with these participants has been of the support-coaching variety: giving them advice, helping refine their fundraising skills, and encouraging them to trust the Lord. Ha. I remind myself to trust the Lord as I look at my fundraising account that stands at $175…. I need to trust the Lord to provide for my next paycheck. It’s funny that some of my own words come back to bite me.
Anyways, I’ve seen grace come into play this week. Their deadline is passed, yet I’ve seen the money come in for these people. A $100 donation from a stranger they just met, a $1,300 anonymous donation, $2,000 check from their church… Each of those really happened. And I’ve been the one on the other end of the phone when they ask the question: “Is it too late? Can I still go on the Race?”
Isn’t it amazing, grace?
Even when my patience is worn thin by the one that never returns my phone calls, somehow I’m still delighted when they FINALLY let me know that they have enough funds to cover the deadline. I think that has to be the little reflection of God inside of me… ya know, that slightly-questionable-but-I’m-willing-to-go-out-on-a-limb-and-say-that-is-not-me part of God inside of me.
How many times do we push the limits, push the “deadlines”? How long do we run away from his love? The prodigal son rejected his father, wasted his inheritance, shamed the family name working in the pig pen. I could use modern examples to make the story relevant to our lives today, but I think we can all remember a time when we spit in God’s face to do our own thing out of miserable stubbornness. The thing that gets me is how miserable it truly is, those times when we “do our own thing.”
And yet our Father waits, with expectant arms, desiring for us to run to him. No matter how much money we’ve spent, shameful acts we’ve committed, or open rebellion we have acted in. Those deadlines and boundaries that the world creates: “You’ve gone too far this time…”
I don’t think God has deadlines.
But if you, reader of this blog, are on E-Squad, you still need $3,500 by Training Camp. 🙂
