Fleece & Mountains

Julie 2013 Blog Post

June 15, 2013

We are 2 days away from taxiing down the runway, and I sit overwhelmed to the point of tears at the abundance God has blessed us with this year for Malawi.

Last year I sat in awe as I watched finances come in for our family of 6 to go, all in a matter of about 3 months! I KNEW God would provide and He did. And He has again this year.

I don't know why I feel so shocked at the abundance that came in. Since I was a little girl, I have had straight forward mustard seed faith. I believe without a doubt that God can truly move mountains. No obstacle is too big for Him. There were times in my childhood where I remember being told I made "mountains out of mole hills". And I specifically remember my silent reply … "well, that's ok, because if the mountains I have created are a problem, the Bible says that God can move 'em …"

This Spring there were a few weeks where my faith felt stretched. We were far from our funding goal and I found myself feeling quite depressed about it. I had been positive that I'd heard God tell me He wanted me to go again. And even continue going in the years to come. But with our family being thousands of dollars behind our fundraising goal, I began to seriously question what I'd been so confident I'd heard as God's Will. My mustard seed faith KNEW that the funds would come in IF it was God's Will for us to go. I was questioning now what God's Will was. We only had about 2.5 weeks before departure, so, the only thing I could think to do was lay out some fleece, to find out whether God wanted me to continue going year after year.

I asked God to provide every penny of our goal for me to know that I was indeed to continue going to Malawi in the future. And that if we were even one penny short, that would be my sign from Him that we were to make this our last trip. As hard as that felt, I knew I only wanted to do what He wanted for me.

Laying out fleece seems a little risky (and to many, theologically incorrect), but I absolutely believed that God would speak to me this way. It's His money, and He has control over it. I had no doubt He would be able to bring in the thousands of dollars that were still needed. So, I humbly and confidently asked in faith for Him to speak to me this way.

A few days ago, we were still under our family's goal when a friend showed up at my home and wrote a cheque with a whole lot of numbers on it - far more than I know they could ever afford - and without thinking, I said, "We don't need all that to meet our goal, it would push us over our goal. Please, save your money and change the cheque". She flat out refused and that's when it hit me … we were over our target goal and God was assuring me of His plan. Praise God for His listening to a silly girl like me!

May God continue to move mountains … yours, mine and theirs. And may you be richly blessed as you have given.

Julie