Fighting Giants

When a girl from our youth group came back from a Royal Servants mission trip this past August, Scout told me she wanted to go next summer. Having been totally blessed by mission trips in the past and wanting desperately for my girls to seize any such opportunities that come their way, my first thought was "Money! There's no way we can afford that!" And so, in my best attempt at encouraging my daughter to listen to God's prompting, I said, "I'm not saying no, and I promise to look into it. But maybe something small and in our state would be better. You know, don't start so big."
Then a few weeks ago I was reading about the twelve spies. For heaven's sake, these people walked across the Red Sea! They were blessed EVERY DAY with manna. They had seen water come out of a rock. And they said, "There are giants. We can't do it." And I thought of Scout and Royal Servants and I wished that I could see the milk and honey instead of the giants.
So last night, Scout came home and said, "Mom, Ally says there's a parent page on the website. And there's a parent meeting in the Cities. And Kelsey has a brochure and a DVD we can borrow. I really, really want to do this." And I thought about the fact that Erma's going to college next fall and we don't even know how we're going to pay for that. And I said, "Scout, I would love for you to have this opportunity, and I'll look into it. But to be very honest, I don't know where the money will come from." And my very wise daughter said, "If God wants it to happen, the money will be there."
Meanwhile, a friend of mine is adopting a special needs child from overseas. Needless to say, it's expensive. On Friday, she told me she needed to raise $3400 by this Wednesday. "I have no more ideas for fundraisers, and only a few people have contributed. I'm just praying for a miracle."
Last night, she had raised 47% of the needed $3400. By noon today, she had met her goal. God is indeed a giant slayer. And I am so blessed to have witnessed this story, because I needed so badly to be reminded that God is truly the giver of all good things. And I know that nothing is impossible with God.
And I promise - and please hold me to this - that I will not let my fears about finances stand in the way of Scout going on this mission trip.