Several weeks ago, we were given an envelope at church with $20 in it. We were told to pray about where God could use that money to be the light.

I was home with my children doing our Bible study one morning, and one of the prompts asked about something we are being patient and waiting on God about. My 8-year-old son, in true 8-year-old form, wrote about a 3D printer. I mentioned to him that those were expensive, and if it was something he really wanted, he was going to need to come up with ways to earn money and start saving toward that. It happened to be snowing that day, so we thought about shoveling for neighbors to earn money. Then, I hopped in the shower, and God does a lot of His talking to me during those times of quiet when I am alone, and the gears started moving in my mind.

The Assignment Revealed

This turned into more of a service project than anything else. I threw the idea out that we could use our $20 from church to purchase a few more shovels and invite some friends to join us and help our neighbors. We could offer to shovel for free, or if people felt moved to donate, they could, and we would give all the money to Reclaimed. The kids LOVED this idea! (I originally also said that whatever they earned, mom and dad would match it so they could still earn money towards saving for the 3D printer, but we have yet to be held accountable to that.)

We went and bought a couple new shovels. We reached out to a few of our local homeschool friends and met up with them. I posted in some local Facebook groups what we were doing and slowly started getting messages. My friend Sarah and I drove around to the houses that contacted us, and we got to work. It was incredible to see these kids working together and working hard. They learned that many hands make light work and that jobs are more fun when done with friends. The people that we encountered were so kind and so generous. Some giving us more than money and providing snacks for the kids, or extra salt.

Invaluable Lessons

The kids were having such a great time that they asked if they could just start going door to door. We had them practice what they were going to say and gave them the go ahead! We watched them have the courage to talk to strangers, and saw them handle disappointment with grace, as some people did not want their driveway shoveled, even for free. They would walk away with their heads down, but then quickly look up and run with smiles to the next house. We even made sure to shovel the sidewalk at church!

The kids ended up earning $261 in donations from local neighbors. They were asking if I could drive them around the next day. They were so excited! I was ready! Unfortunately, we didn’t get any more snow, so our services were no longer needed. Pastor Nate said that he would match what they earned up to $500! We were thrilled!!

We waited around a little while to see if we would get any more snow and see if we could grow that money anymore. Something was telling me to just wait.

God Shows Up

So, we waited. Then, one day about a week or two ago, one of our dear friends shared some amazing news with us. They heard from the doctor/scientist that is working on a cure for their son. They were needed in New York sometime in April for genetic testing on each member of their family. Because I know this family very well, I already knew that many expenses were in their near future with four kids and birthdays and all the extracurriculars and camps coming up, and this was something they were already worrying about and praying about and picking up extra shifts to accommodate. This was something that they needed to do, and it was unknown when it would be done. It became clear that this was what we were waiting for.

I prayed about and started contacting more of our homeschool friends and our lifegroup and Nate. I was blown away at the outpouring of love and generosity from these friends and family members. In total, we were able to give them $3,500 to help get them all to New York!! Praise God!!

I was in tears on the phone, sharing with my friend what we were doing. She was in tears. She shared with me that they were just discussing everything as a family and thinking about not being able to take everyone because of expenses, and one of their kids said, “Mom, dad, don’t worry. God will provide a way.” And He did! He did!

Check out the “Be The Light” messages, discussion guides and videos to learn more!