The first donation came in even before we launched the official fundraising campaign. It came from generous donors who have walked with us, prayed with us, and listened to our son’s story with love and compassion. Their generosity shook me. Even after I had come to a place of humbly accepting these gifts, it still brings me to tears each and every time a donation comes in. No matter the dollar amount, I know that each gift is a sacrifice and a love offering for our family.
It took me years of research and a lot of encouragement from the professionals in our son’s life to persuade my husband and me to apply for a service dog of our son. Our son was adopted at age 2 1/2 and since then has endured many therapies to help him overcome many obstacles in his life. Welcoming a service dog as a part of his healing is not something we decided lightly or overnight. The financial restraints left us dragging our feet for a long part of those three years.
We knew when we applied for the service dog, it was not covered under our insurance and there were no organizations that offered financial help to offset the cost of the dog for children with his specific needs. Relying on fundraising is common for other families like ours in similar positions. I balked at that at first and needed to get my heart in the right place. God convicted me and here we are.
“God is able to do far more than we can ever ask for or imagine.” Ephesians 3:20
Things seemed impossible and I felt defeated before I even began. That’s when I knew I was not turning to God first. Our goal to raise $26,000 for the service dog is a daunting task. In the beginning, I felt overwhelmed with sticker shock. I prayed. I prayed hard about what to do. No longer feeling defeated, but encouraged, God slowly shifted my outlook.
God can do far more than we can ever expect or imagine. He is possible. He is faithful. We’ve been witnessing these blessings unfold over the past several months and more recently as we kicked off our fundraiser officially.
Filling the void is not impossible for Him. He can bridge the gaps. We have invited our community to come alongside and be a part of this next step for our son. Our village is showing up. We are trusting Him to provide and He is.
Brave is…humbly accepting the generosity of others.
If you know me personally, you know how hard this has been. With each donation, I am breaking down my self-reliance and building faith. It’s the holy act of giving that has me utterly undone each and every time.
I wrote last week how God has changed my life regarding community and this is an extension of this learning. He is transforming me to include my community in this area of our lives as well. I have been laid out on my face praising God for his grace and mercy. He has gently instructed and directed my path. He not only broke me down but also humbled me and convicted me about this giving thing.
God is so good. I never wanted to ask for help. Call it pride or stubbornness. Either way, my attitude and heart changed once I was vulnerable about my feelings with Him. He chiseled away at my misplaced ideas and opened up my eyes to what I was missing by not accepting help from others.
A simple thank you seems not enough.
Do you struggle with accepting help from others? How is God working on you to allow people in your life to bless you? I’d be honored to hear your stories of how accepting the generosity of others has blessed you.
[Our community is overwhelming us with love, prayers, and support. We are so grateful. If you would like to support us in our efforts you can go to our fundraising website HERE. There you will find more details about our son’s story and how to donate and share.]