Auction 2008

Cast your bread upon the waters, for you will find it after many days. He who observes the wind will not sow, and he who regards the clouds will not reap. As you do not know what is the way of the wind, or how the bones grow in the womb of her who is with child, so you do not know the works of God who makes everything. In the morning sow your seed, and in the evening do not withhold your hand; for you do not know which will prosper, either this or that, or whether both alike will be good. Ecclesiastes 11:1, 4-6 (NKJV)

Today, I made twelve cakes, arranged twenty-five beaded jewelry sets and wrapped eight gift baskets. Is it Christmas? Is it someone’s birthday? No! It is time for our Sunday School class’ annual auction. On Saturday, we host silent and live auctions and a BBQ all to raise money for missionaries around the world and ministries here at home. The proceeds from last year’s auction sent youngest son’s team to Brazil as well as a group to Liberia and some to Italy. We also use the funds for benevolence in our community, not just among church members. Electric bills paid, medical expenses covered, groceries purchased, Christmas gifts for foster children, youth sent to summer camp. They all come from the auction fund. For the last few years, I have been chairman of the auction, but this year, I said I could not do it. Then, the woman who agreed to serve had a family emergency and guess who got back the job? I am glad because God is teaching me some lessons that I might not have learned otherwise. I feel such peace about the whole event which is very unusual particularly because everything that could go wrong has. The information about the auction did not get in the church bulletin last week. Nor did it get announced in worship service. A lot of people who ordinarily attend will be out of town. Our community is having a round of stomach flu and tons of people are sick. After I finished entered all the items into it, the on line data base we use to keep track of our donations disappeared sometime last night. Not just the data, but the whole website. Then, there are money woes. Some of us are now on budgets. (Thanks Dave Ramsey!) And of course, there is such depressing news about the economy. Many of our class are out of work. Still I am at peace. Our goal is $20,000. That is $4,000 more than last year. All of this time as we have prepped for the auction, we have been praying that God would be glorified. That’s our main desire. Now, some might say He will be glorified when we raise $20,000! Yes, despite these obstacles, God is perfectly capable of bringing in ten times that amount if He chooses. He may just. Yet, I have a strong belief that He is working on something else. Remember, we have been praying that God would be glorified. I am convinced He will do a mighty work on Saturday, but it might not be all about the money. The skeptics reading may say, “Oh, she’s just making excuses. She knows they can’t raise those kinds of dollars this year.” No, I’m not making excuses. I don’t need to make excuses for God. He can perform miracles. Ordinarily, I would be anxious and fretting, but I am at peace. I don’t know which way God will work, but the change in my heart is miracle enough for me.