GOAL!

I know it's Monday, and I don't usually post on Monday, but I have such an amazing God story to share with you, I couldn't wait. You may recall that in Friday's post, I shared some of the background about how God has continually reminded us that He's in control, and He is writing this story - we can let go of the details. Easier said than done! In fact, even though I was sharing about all the times God had shown us how He could (and would) provide, I knew we were - even as late as last Thursday night - making "back up" contingency plans as our financial safety net. We're INTJs... it's what we do. Silly people.

Each week after I write the blog post for And Then There Were 7, I usually take part of the post and put it on our YouCaring site for anyone who might still be looking for updates there, and then I add a few little extras to the YouCaring update (like how many gifts are left on the Amazon registry, and how much money we're lacking to reach our goal). My YouCaring updates automatically post to our personal Facebook account as well, and it gives our connections a quick update on what's going on (for those who do not to follow the blog page on Facebook).

Less than 30 minutes after the YouCaring post went live on Friday, I received a notification of a donation from YouCaring in my inbox. I looked, and then I looked again. And then I almost cried. And then I forwarded the notification to Peter. One amazing family had jumped on and donated the remaining amount to reach our $20k goal. If you're wondering what an INTJ looks like when they are shocked, I believe I kind of looked like this...

And so yes, I'm sorry God. I get it. YOU are writing this story. YOU are arranging the details. YOU know what we need, when we need it. And even though I am sure that there will be a time in the future - possibly even in the not so distant future - when I will forget and will try to take care of those pesky details for You, I am beyond grateful for the reminder on Friday of Who is in charge. 

And here's one final thing to note, and we want to make sure this is perfectly clear: this family gave a large gift, and we are grateful. But I can honestly say that we are equally grateful for the $20 donations, because we know that this isn't about us - this is about God and His story, and people wanting to be a part of it. We are grateful for each person who has pressed a $20 bill into our hands, passed on gently used quality toys, purchased a pack of kids underwear, or handed over book credit to use at our local used book store. 

Years ago, when we raised support as missionaries, it truly felt like it was about us, and each donation was some sort of validation of "our" ministry. I cannot tell you how different it feels this time around - maybe because people are giving despite there being no tax deduction, maybe because this time the entire story was never our plan. Either way - we are thanking God for each person who has joined with us, for the Glory of God.