I just got back from a fantastic vacation in the mountains, finishing christmas break off right. I skied, relaxed, didn't think about school even once, and had a fantastic time with fantastic friends - friends i've known since before i was born. You see, we go to this cabin twice every year - first for the new year, and then again in the summer, every year since I was 6 months old. It is always incredibly sad to come home but life-giving while you're up there. I lived in leggings for the past 6 days, slept in sweatpants on the couch by the fire, fell asleep to Coldplay and Ed Sheeran every night, and figured out my new years resolution for 2013. I wrote this post down on my Notes app on my iPod before going to bed last night & I'm beyond excited to come back from my break with this post. Oh, p.s., a new design is coming soon to this blog, because I can't ring in a new year without a fresh blog face.
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I posted it on Facebook after I read this post.
"give $15 and change a baby's life."
and then it was in my head all day long.
"Simeon. $15." I swear it was whispered to me multiple times during the day. I heard Him.
and so I typed in my Paypal password and I typed "$15" in the box and I clicked send. I had never done anything like that in my entire life. I had never given money to adoption. They asked for $15, I gave. Because I think God told me to.
And I questioned whether or not to post this. (Matthew 6:1-34) i am not posting this because I think that what I did was great. In fact it really wasn't. This is just a post showing that God can use you if you let him. Proving that if you allow yourself to be used, God can use a little person like you. And that in the end it blesses you more than you could have ever blessed. That is why I am posting this.
I pushed that send button and I closed Facebook, put my iPod to sleep and didn't think about it again. And then I got on Facebook again 2 hours later and saw the words FULLY FUNDED.
Oh my goodness.
Then I heard.........
"You just participated in bringing home a baby. forever."
Overwhelmed. Overwhelmed. I was so so overwhelmed. I've never ever been so overwhelmed in my life.
I just gave $15 and two hours later the entire $15,000 was there because OUR GOD CAN MOVE MOUNTAINS.
Our God can bring home babies in 48 hours.
Our God can fund $15,000 in 2 days.
And He can use little people like me to do that. $15 isn't a lot. But I feel so overwhelmed knowing that God chose to use me.
That money wasn't mine, it was God's. And if I were to die tonight it would sit there. What's the point of having money if you can't bless others with it. What's God's point of giving me money if he didn't want me to give it to people who need it. Because I don't need it. I would have spent that $15 on music or shoes but instead God used me,
a sinner,
to give Simeon a second chance.
And I'm so glad He did.
& with that said, I found my new years resolution.
i'm not a new years resolution kind of person. i think it's hard to keep these "promises" that you make at the beginning of the year. I think it puts a lot of pressure on yourself and that at the end of the year, if you didn't complete your list of goals for the year, you feel like a failure. i hate that, so i usually think really super hard about the one thing i want to focus on each year.
and this year i struggled with what that thing was. i thought about it and it just didn't come. after this today, i think i realized what my new years resolution is.
my new years resolution is to be generous. because this money that i have is not mine. these material things that i have are not mine. i will not die with them. they will perish and i won't need them anymore.
to bless is to be blessed. i want to be so generous this year that i bless people so much that i am blessed more than i could have ever blessed anyone else.
and i'm so happy that Simeon was the start of my new years resolution and that God used a little person like me to complete His perfect plan.
Happy New Year, friends. Twenty Thirteen. It sound so full of hope.
"The grass withers and the flowers fade, but the word of our Lord stands forever." Isaiah 40:8
The post made me cry more than any blog post ever has. Simeon is already so loved. I can only imagine how his parents feel after seeing God work in this situation. $15,00 is one big mountain, and God moved it, using you and other people who realized their money is not their own. I'm so glad you posted this.
Thank you sooooo much for sharing a fantastic story, Emma! Its SUCH a blessing that you did. praying for your thoughtful resolution ;)
love from vermont,
sarah
2013 does have a good ring to it. so glad you were overwhelmed with being able to help. it IS a blessing to bless. and your vacay sounds like ''vacay gone right'' :) xo
Okay, so ONE: The exact same thing happened to me two years ago! I wanted my Christmas present to be money given to a grant for a child through Reece's Rainbow. There was a little baby boy named Cliff. He started off with almost no money for his adoption.. on Christmas morning I checked and he had thousands of dollars towards his adoption and by the end of the week had found his forever family! God really can move mountains. To think He can use me.
And two, I haven't been on Blogger in forever and randomly decided to check your blog. Let's just say you confirmed something I've been wanting to do for someone! :)