Running on Purpose

As women after God’s heart, we are called “to open our arms to the poor and extend our hands to the needy”(Proverbs 31:20). Doing so on our own has its own share of blessings, but how much more impactful could we be together? So, I thought we could sprinkle a little fundraiser in with our training…with the idea of donating the proceeds to an organization that reaches the poor and needy in the name of Jesus.

Remember fundraisers when we were in grade school? Perhaps many of you are doing this with your own kids now. You went door to door and asked your friends and family to pledge an amount for every hour you jumped rope or every lap you completed around the track? I thought it would be fun to see how much money we could raise as a group for each mile of the Bolder Boulder we individually complete. These days, fundraising seems like it would be easier. Sure you can knock on doors – or you can just jump on Facebook!

So where should the money go? Well…

Lately, God has been teaching me a lot about sufficiency – His definition versus my own. Every time I think I need a divinely decorated house, or a snazzier wardrobe, or a bottomless checking account to come and go as I please, God gently reminds me of the privileged life I already live – without all those things. I open my refrigerator or pantry and select a variety of foods I want to prepare in my suitably equipped kitchen to serve my healthy family on a kitchen table with enough chairs for everyone in a pest-free house with multiple rooms that registers a comfortable temperature on a programmable thermostat ready to heat or cool as needed. When I lift the handle on my faucet, clean, purified water always comes out and at a flip of some switches, I can flood the house with light. I watch my TV or jump on my computer with high-speed internet to see what the weather is going to be like so I can choose my outfit for the day from my walk-in closet. And when I am ready to leave my dry-walled, carpeted, insulated house with a shingled roof, I choose from a variety of pairs of shoes in my garage before I jump in my over-sized vehicle to travel 4 miles to shop at one of the 7 grocery stores in town in order to stock my already stocked food supply.

Out of all the things I’ve mentioned and the countless privileges I’ve left out, I think the fact that I have shoes for my feet is what I take for granted the most. I mean doesn’t everyone have at least one pair of shoes. The shocking, desperate reality is, NO!! We have shoes for warm weather and cold weather, snow and rain, running and working, Uncle John’s wedding and the 2006 family reunion… but in stark contrast, there are millions of children around the world who don’t own a single pair of shoes to protect their precious feet. And as a result, they contract serious infections and parasites because of cuts and sores they get from traveling more than 30 miles in bare feet, just to go to school for an education that offers a glimmer of hope that one day it might be different for them. Heartbreaking!

So… I got to thinking. We rely so heavily on a good pair of shoes to run in that maybe as we’re running in these well-suited shoes, we could at least be earning a pair of shoes for someone who is without. A subsidiary of Campus Crusade for Christ, Soles Blessing Souls needs just $3 to provide a pair of shoes to a needy child. Just $3 will protect a child’s feet from disease and disaster. How many $3 pair of shoes can we come up with, Sisters? Jesus said in Matthew 25:40, “…I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.” How many pairs of shoes can we give Jesus when we run in our own well-cushioned soles for a measly 6.2 miles? Ooh, I love the smell of a good challenge!

If you are in the Faithfully Fit distribution list, I will be emailing you a pledge form, if you care to use one. That’s the Type A in me – and you know you love it! If you wish to make a pledge email me at mikelisafischer@msn.com. Dear Sisters, this is not meant to be one more task. The Lord loves a joyful giver, so don’t feel obligated to donate or participate. But I would encourage you to at least pray about it. Let’s pray together, now…

Thank you Jesus that we have shoes on our feet, clothes on our back, food in our pantries and freedom to worship You at will. Thank you Lord that though these may be tough economic times here, we do not know poverty like what exists in many parts of the world. Lord, I pray for the millions of children in the world without soles on their feet. I pray that You would strengthen them and protect them and give them hope in You. I pray that hearts around the world are not only breaking for the poor and oppressed but moving for them out of their love for You. Lord it is our highest honor and greatest privilege to do Your work, work you prepared in advance for us, and work you long to bless us each with if only we could see it, if only we would grasp the opportunity. Give us eyes to see what You see, Lord, and may You alone be glorified in everything we do! I pray this in the precious, powerful, sufficient name of Jesus Christ. Amen.