Tears welled in the eyes of some and streamed down the cheeks of others. We stared at the large screens at GPCC’s 2019 Benefit Dinner and watched as the total quickly went from $192,450 to $325,00 to over $500,000. In one night, people gave over $562,000 dollars to our mission and vision.
What the guests standing next to our staff didn’t know was that in that moment we were crying tears of joy over what God had done with our dust.
Over the last year, our team has walked through one of the most taxing seasons we’ve ever experienced. In between Open Houses, volunteer trainings, the Unplanned movie premier, vision planning, and day-to-day responsibilities, there was a spiritual battle being waged against us. Loved ones were lost, cancer was found, physical and mental illnesses were diagnosed, miscarriages were suffered, jobs were lost, and ultimately we were broken to the point of dust.
We’ve felt the pains of this broken world and faced the realities of spiritual warfare the Bible promises. With each blow, we’ve done the only thing we could—turned to the truth of God’s Word and poured out our souls in prayer.
The morning of the Benefit Dinner, we cried out to God again. We begged for Him to move in big ways, and acknowledged raising the funds we needed would be evidence of His work and for His glory alone. As we went around the table and prayed, many of us asked for $500,000 even though our goal was $450,000—and we weren’t confident we would even make that. Our faith that day wasn’t in the answers to our prayers, but in the character of God.
So as we totaled our preliminary numbers and they went far above what we could’ve imagined, we knew God had showed up and showed off. Once again, He far exceeded our expectations and showed us that our mission is His mission.
And no matter what suffering comes our way, His plans won’t be stopped.
Deanna Jewell
Deanna is the Senior Director of Health and Client Services at the Care Center.