About two weeks ago already, there was a night that I just kept tossing and turning, and every time I reached some sort of consciousness, it was as though God was laying it on my heart that He wanted me to post something very specific on Facebook: the fact that Haley still needed 20 more $100 donations. It’s not like me to want to post a plea for help, so I kept fighting the feeling by trying to ignore the thought or come up with some other more gentle way to say it like “40 more $50 donations” or whatever. But God would not let it go in my heart, and after some prayerful deliberation, I finally knew that I needed to humble myself and just obey.
The very next morning we received an email from someone saying that she had put another donation in Haley’s account, and it was four times the amount that she had already given! In chatting with her, she shared that she had originally wanted to give that total amount, but her husband was hesitant, so she had been watching and waiting. When she saw my posting, she knew God was laying it on her heart to give the original amount! Is God amazing or what?!? I love hearing how God works in others’ hearts, and I know that God will bless not only this donor but all of those who responded to the post. We’re down to needing only $900 more!
Just as awesome as that large donation was, there was a small donation that was just as breathtaking. It was from someone who probably doesn’t have an abundant supply of resources, who has gone through some really hard circumstances in life, and who may not necessarily have any reason to trust or believe in God’s plan, but yet God moved in this person’s heart to give anyway, and she gave. My heart longs for her to know and understand how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is for her.
Throughout this whole fund-raising process, it would be very easy to get caught up in who’s giving, who’s not, and how much, and to let judgmental thoughts take root in our hearts, but it’s not about that, and we pray it never will be. We understand that not every person can give even if they really want to or give as much as they would like. We’ve been there too! When people do give, we trust that they are giving out of a heart of obedience to what God is asking them to do and not with Haley in mind as the recipient. I’m not sure that many people really understand this, and I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve never really thought about it much before either, but in recent months God has been showing us that some people are called to go and some people are called to send. Haley just happens to be one of the people He is calling to go at this moment in time.
Sunday morning we were out of town, but we attended a worship service that was focused on celebrating how God was using people from their congregation to go out and be lights in this world. Just when I least expected it, a song was sung that brought me to tears. If I could post a link to the song or even the lyrics, I would, but it was all about “I will go . . . I will go to be your hands and feet . . . I will go to share your light for all to see . . . I will go for the glory of my king.” Of course, all I could think about was Haley going, but then as the tears were coming down my face, I started replacing the word “go” with the word “send” and realized that my calling right now is to send. Powerful. Very powerful.
The story could end right there, but there is a little bit more. Haley leaves on June 14, but on June 15 we are receiving a French foreign exchange student, Charlene, into our home for just one month. Kelsey has been taking French at school this year, and she approached us early on in the school year that this would be something she would love for us to do, so we eventually came to the conclusion that it would be a fun experience for our family. Only God could have orchestrated the timing of all of this! At first glance, it might seem pretty crazy, but really I think the timing is perfect. We’ll have time alone with Haley before she leaves, but once she’s gone, we’ll be forced to focus on entertaining our guest, helping her feel comfortable, and ministering to her while she is away from her family. As we help her adapt to her new surroundings, we’ll be more cognizant of some things Haley might be going through and experiencing, and I think our prayers for Haley will be more astute.
We received our first communication in the mail from Charlene last Thursday, and now the two girls spent a couple hours chatting via Facebook today already. Kelsey has always had a strong passion to share Christ with her friends, so it did not surprise me a bit when she shared with me that she already learned that going to church will be a new experience for Charlene. I can’t help but wonder what God has in store for all of us through this visit!
As I think about all these things, I’m really struck by the different roles God calls all of us to as believers at different times in our lives. We’ve been so focused on letting Haley go, and now we also need to focus on what God is calling Kelsey and our family to do right here at home! How will He choose to use all of us? If you’re a follower of Christ, how is He using you? Are you a person who says, “I will go”? Are you a sender? Or is He asking you to minister to someone local today? Whatever role He’s calling you to, I trust you’re obeying and blessed beyond measure because of it!
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