Giving My Life Away

By Holly

For about a year now, I have been praying about how God can use my wealth and resources for His work. My family has been comfortable financially and will probably always be well off. Ever since I went on an “urban plunge” trip with the interns at New Community and spent a week in Chicago, I have felt a burning in my heart to give my money away. The American dream just doesn’t appeal to me anymore. So, I started to pray that God would open my eyes to the needs around me. It has been a difficult journey because the more I prayed, the more I worried about my money and who I should give it to. I have been disobedient and I don’t always give when I should. I felt lost and overwhelmed because there is so much need and I didn’t know where to start. 

After countless prayers and many troubled nights, God revealed to my heart an important aspect of His Kingdom; He is in control and He will use my desire to give but I have to completely surrender the control I have over my money, my time and my material possessions. I have to surrender my thoughts and my prayers to Him.

A couple of months ago, Jeremy and I started praying about living in the Hillyard neighborhood (one of the poorest zip codes in the state of Washington) after graduation. He is currently serving with Youth For Christ in that neighborhood and I might be working at a Hillyard Community Center. We started out dreaming of living in a small apartment on the South Hill and after I surrendered my prayers to Him, he changed our focus. I am a little concerned about this decision though as we might only be in Spokane for a year. I want to live missionally but I also want to make a decision to live where we serve in order to build relationships. What do you think are the positives and negatives of moving into this neighborhood not knowing how long we will be able to serve here?