“He blesses us so that we can be different, and that difference can draw others to Christ” –Craig Groeshcel
My fundraising story has very little to do with money, andmuch more to do with obedience. Although, the more I think about it every single journey we experience in life, whether spiritual or not, boils down to a decision of obedience. We have two choices, are we going to “obey” the standards of this world, or are we going to obey the crazy, out-of-the-box commands of God.
When I first got accepted to the race and heard that I had to raise $16,285 my thoughts were, “I got this.” I know, I know, you might be thinking I’m rich, but I can assure you that is not the case. To put it simply: I’m a saver, and have been ever since I can remember.
Before the world race was ever in the picture I worked as a waitress, and when God opened the door for another job opportunity in ministry, I clearly felt Him telling me to keep both jobs. I didn’t understand at first, because at the time I didn’t need the income of both, but I listened and kept both jobs. I lived off of my ministry income and saved every penny from my waitress position. When people would ask me what I was saving for I would say, “I don’t know…but God does.”
So then when God led me to the World Race I sighed and said, “This is it, God, this is why you wanted me have both jobs.” When I was accepted to go on the World Race I had 1/3 of the money I would need. I was happy, I was comfortable- finally all those long hours were paying off.
Then God showed me a need, a need that was great. Many of you know that adoption has been close to my heart since I was old enough to understand the concept of family; heck it was what brought Justin and I together. I knew one day it would be part of the story God had for me. But, I never thought God would call me to enter the story of adoption at 21 years old.
Many of you also know that adoption is expensive. But money is no excuse not to obey God’s command “to care for the orphans.” –James 1:27
God put a family along my path very briefly. And while I didn’t know them, I knew God, and I knew He was telling me that He crossed our paths so that I could help them unite their family in the beautiful process of adoption.
I wasn’t leaving for another 7 months, and they could get their children tomorrow if… you guessed it, they just had the money. How could I lay my head down at night with this substantial amount of money in my bank account, that wasn’t being used currently, when every night that this family doesn’t have this money, it’s another night without their children. I couldn’t because God told me to do something. So I did.
As usual, God told me three distinct times that this was His will. I combatted Him with several questions:
“God, I don’t even have the money I need to do what you have called me to yet, how is this going to work?”
“God, I don’t even know them, are you sure?”
“You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God”
-2 Corinthians 9:11
He didn’t give me answers. He simply gave me commandsto obey as He led. And He made it clear this was how he was leading me. He told me that I placed a title on the money I saved before I asked God how He wanted to use it. I had assumed, and relied on my own wisdom to make the decision it was strictly “World Race Money” and he let me know that EVERY part of my life should be surrendered to Him, because it all came from Him in the first place. He had different plans that involved more than I imagined.
So I loaned 1/3 of the money I needed for the world race to this family I barely knew. I was scared, but the minute I wrote this check I knew God looked down and said, “I’m proud of you, not for what you did-but for your act of trust that you just demonstrated.”
See, I’ll give God my life, sacrifice my comforts and control to go on the World Race-but money has alwaysbeen one area of my life that I have wanted control over.It’s not that I’m not a giving person. It’s just that I like a budget, I like a plan…and this was definitely not in the budget or the plan.
God’s test of trust didn’t stop once I wrote the check. Once my family knew, they were supportive, but skeptical. I didn’t see why, because all I felt was the overwhelming peace that this is what the Lord had for me.
A few months later I began to understand their skepticism. The family that I barely knew misunderstood the agreements and suddenly told me they didn’t have any money to repay me.
My heart sank.
I cried.
I screamed.
I was angry at myself for being naive.
I was furious at myself for not listening to my parents’advice.
I was angry at God for leading me to this place.
(If you haven’t read my blog “It is worth it”– this was written the day I found out)
God let me know during this time, that nothing slipped by Him. He knew exactly what was going to happen, exactly how I would feel, and exactly how I would react. And He knew exactly what this was going to teach me.
Not many people know this story, and the ones that do respond with something along the lines of, “well next time you’ll know,” “I bet you learned your lesson,” or something to that effect. I don’t share this story for your pity, for your advice, or to belittle anyone. I share this story to let you know that I have no regrets, to give you hope, and to point you towards Jesus.
God taught me what it felt like to trust Him when it made sense to nobody else, when things don’t go as expected, and when I didn’t know where to turn. He taught me to hear His voice, and obey His voice above any others. He taught me to loose control, so that I could recognize He was truly in control.
Once God was in control He showed up and He showed outin ways only HE can. I’m happy to announce that I’m 100% funded! Thanks to a very successful 5K Color runback in August, a Pizza Inn Fundraiser, T-shirt sales, speaking engagements, and the overwhelming support of my local church I have now raised 16,285 and am fully funded!
Honestly, if I hadn’t have gotten out of the way, trusted God, and given Him control I know I wouldn’t be writing the words “I’m 100% funded today.” He deserves the credit, because He did it. He raised up people to pray, to give, and to volunteer.
One of the most unexpected ways was when I was wrapping up my time as Youth Minister at my home church. I shared with the youth and congregation about the world race and about why I was going, and at the end my pastor presented me with a check that read, “100% Funded” I looked at Him somewhat confused because I knew I wasn’t, and He said, “We have decided as a church toensure that you’re 100% funded before you leave.”
As I write this blog, I still cry. There are no words to express my gratitude. It’s so much more than money. It’s support. It’s knowing that while I travel around the world that I have a body of believers who believed in me, and what God has called me to do, and they decided to join this journey with me.
He knew what He was doing, and it was in His perfect timing and His perfect way. His way also included the family repaying the loan. It wasn’t in my timing, or my parents, but in God’s timing. It was enough time to teach me trust. On top of the lesson of trust God allowed me to not know where the money was coming from to give me the chance to see how much support I do have from my biological family, my church family, and my friends. It was scary. It was exhausting. But it’s an incredible feeling to know you do not stand alone.
For all of you future racers, or people who read this and think, “There’s no way I can raise $16,285” You are right. You can’t. But God wants to show you and those around you that He can. He wants to rally beside you, and raise up other people to do the same. To let you know He’s got this, and there are countless people that love you. Don’t underestimate what He can do in you and through you during this process of fundraising.
For the 320 of you that have given or volunteered, thank you for joining this journey with me, and remember this: be different. be weird. don’t be afraid to stand out. don’t be afraid to disobey the world, if it means obeying God.
“When you let God’s blessings flow through you, and you are generous as his conduit of his blessing, then you will radically depart from the typical mindset of “What’s in it for me?” Which means most normal people won’t get it.They won’t understand- why in the world would you give so much of what you have? But you’ll definitely have their attention with your supernatural generosity, and they’ll want to know what’s different about you. They’ll ask you how you can give-and live so freely. And you’ll have an opportunity to explain why you’re so weird and why they might want to consider being weird too. Why? It’s not just because normal isn’t working. More important, its because God is our only true source of life.”
-Craig Groeschel from his book Weird
