Why is it so hard?

Think drama people...DRAMA!

No, not the Britney Spears, Rhianna, Kardashian kind of drama.

I'm talking Vacation Bible School Son Surf drama. This is where I begin.

My role: Sunrise Sunset...the beach jewelry stand hippie. (Yes, one day I even sang a song that my mom actually wrote during her good ole REAL hippie days of burning bras and reppin' the peace sign).

Erik's role: Tanner McBuff...the oh so fine beach lifeguard with a slight ego problem. (I kind of have the hots for him!)

Our last couple of weeks have been filled with drama. Skit practices, performances, and getting to know the fine people that have put all of this together. The Davis Family.

And really, that is where this post brings me today. It really has little to do with skits and way more to do with the Davis'.

Let me introduce you.

Matt and Kimberly and their 3 kids are completely amazing. Not only are they the most real and transparent family that I know, but they fully live each day into the grace of God and His call on our lives. 

So much so that they are puttin' on their boots, packin' up their bags, and heading off to London to be full-time missionaries in an often overlooked city that desperately needs Jesus. (You can check out their website here!)

Talk about being the hands and feet of God. 

Our conversation today brought us to the topic of fundraising. Fundraising for Missionaries and fundraising for adoption. As many of you know, Erik and I are fundraising for our adoption (to which the Davis kids contributed by bringing us an envelope of hard earned lemonade stand money and praying with us about our adoption...um...hello awesome!). 

And as many of you may or may not know, most Missionaries (such as the Davis's) are fully supported financially by fundraising. 

Fundraising is hard. I mean like...REALLY hard. There is a part at the beginning when you are fired up and the world is your oyster and the sun is always shining and nothing can hold you down. You have a rapid fire of people who can't wait to help out and an outpouring of incredible blessing. 

And that is exactly what it is. Incredible blessing. 

But then...you hit the incline. It is like riding a bike downhill, lifting your feet off the pedals, coasting halfway up the next hill and realizing that you forgot to stick with the momentum to make it all the way up. 

It is hard and it is slow. 

So why is it so hard? 

Why is it easier to critique the way people are fundraising or if they actually really "need" to be supported than it is to just not spend money at Starbucks everyday and trust that your willingness to love someone out of what you have is better than a 3rd cup of freshly brewed coffee. (Me = guilty). 

Matt quoted on his Facebook one day that if every one of their friends committed to give their family $25 a month to support them as missionaries, they would be fully funded by support and ready to go. 

$25. That is it. That is nothing. 

But fundraising ISN'T nothing. It is a big fat something that scares people away from saying, "I want to walk along side of you, no strings attached." 

For some reason, I think that we have it in our heads (and I am speaking for myself) that supporting missionaries or people who are fundraising means that we have to hand them a check for $500 in order for it to mean something. 

I don't know about you...but I can't afford that. 

We have received several cards with $10 or $20 to go toward our adoption. Those cards mean just as much as the $500 checks, because they say "I am willing."

So why aren't we willing? What are we protecting by not giving out of what God has given us? 

And what are we missing out on by not allowing ourselves to immerse into a much greater and bigger picture? 

We have been so supported and so loved by a TON of people. In huge ways and in small ways. And for that, I am overwhelmed with thankfulness. 

I think that those people get it. 

I...well...I'm still working on it. 

Drama.