When God Wows Us
Posted: Tuesday, November 10, 2009
by Laura Trahan
In our family, we sometimes refer to it as God showing off. There are these moments throughout every day, you just have to seek them, in which God chooses to show himself big!
It may be the laughter of your kids in the backseat over the word, "toot." It may be that mysterious money that shows up in your bank account the moment you needed food or to pay a bill. It may be that friend that came into your life and said the right thing at the right moment.
Yesterday, I was privileged to witness something that blew my mind away on how big God can be. Don't get me wrong, i can recite something to you every day for this past week. Guess I look more now. But yesterday's event brought me to tears.
There is this man name Jon Acuff. He has this blog called Stuff Christians Like that is a satirical look at the Christian faith. I have to admit that I go to laugh at myself more then anything else when i visit his blog.
Yesterday, he posted something serious about a conversation he had with his daughter over a year ago.
"We were looking at a book on storms and came to a page about drought and famine. In the corner was a little boy who was starving. His ribs were sticking out and flies covered his small face. I kept flipping the pages but L.E. made me stop and return to that one. She asked, "What's that?" I told her, "That's a little boy who doesn't have enough food to eat." She thought for a few seconds and then responded, 'That's not real though. That's pretend right?'"
As a parent, you can't read this and not have that heart drop in the stomach type of reaction. We do this. Fear creeps in as we have to explain to our kids that people are suffering and then further explain how we are just sitting there doing nothing.
But for Jon Acuff, this moment began to move him. So this is what he decided to do yesterday.
"L.E. (his daughter) was right, this can't be real. So after years of supporting Samaritan's Purse, I decided to contact them with an offer of help. And when I told them where my heart was and where my family was, they let me know about a kindergarten in Vietnam that needed to be built. There are 240 little kids that need a six room kindergarten built in Hoang Then village in the Phong Tho district. It costs $30,000. I'd like to raise it by December 31, 2009."
Then God decided to show off.
Within 18 hours, stuffchristianslike.net raised $30,000 to build a kindergarten in Vietnam. Can you imagine?
I am not sure why I have been moved by this so much. I think it is refreshing that during these times of economic hardships, individuals can still come together for the common good.
If you are interested in who Jon Acuff is or want to learn more about how big our God is, be sure and check out his blog, stuffchristianslike.net. For more information on Samaritans Purse visit samaritanspurse.org. You can also still donate by visiting http://www.firstgiving.com/SCL
Searchwarp also has opportunities to give back to the community. By clicking on Sponsor This Space, you can contribute to Geovi's Home for New Life, a home for pregnant teens or Hope House, a Christ-centered recovery community in Houston.
I love stories about how big our God is. I think it offers inspiration to those seeking. Feel free to leave your own stories about how big God's love is for you in the comment section below.
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Top-level comments on this article: (5 total)And I love your story of this story - how encouraging and what a wonderful reminder - not that we forgot but sometimes we get so busy buzzing that we just spin right by His obvious! Thanks, Laura, MarijoThanks Marijo!
Great story. I used to be a Rotarian and I heard a story about a village in Africa (there are actually lots of them in this situation), in which all the parents had died from AIDS. There wasn't one parent left, only children caring for children. The Rotary club, in question, sponsored the whole village to help the children survive. I heard stories like that all the time. Another good one is Ryan's Well Foundation.
There is a famous saying, that one honest voice can be louder than a crowd. I believe this is because the small, honest voices are being broadcast over God's loudspeaker system.
Some would say it is good for the soul to help out in this way, but it is also excellent for stress management. People who volunteer have higher Oxytocin (bonding and trust hormone) levels and Dopamine (feel good hormone) levels in their bodies. These two hormones play a significant role in reducing stress. Volunteering can, in fact, prolong life by reducing stress.Jill-that is fascinating! What an interesting thought about living longer to do more work for God! Thanks so much for sharing your stories as well! It makes my heart leap for joy!
Wow! Wonderful story Laura. You don't have to look far these days to see someone in need that you can help. Thanks for sharing a very inspiring story.Thanks Brianna for commenting!
Great story. Helping others is good for our souls. Thanks for sharing., Linda D
Good stuff, Laura. Thanks for the great article.Sandra
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