Page 21 - RiseUpWarrior

8 Sacrifice The summer between my junior and senior year of high could a 16-year old do, but call her parents. school, I decided to take the money I had earned all year I remember calling them up, and sheepishly telling them and attend summer school at Christ for the Nations Col- that I had given everything I had to the offering plate, lege in Texas. The classes were great midweek, and I and now I had nothing to eat. I had hoped for a miracle, heard wonderful teaching every Sunday. The only prob- but so far nothing had happened, and I was hungry. My lem was that I was only 16 years old, so everything was roommates had no compassion on me, and would not a stretch for me. It was my frst time to live apart from share their food with me. my parents, so I had to fgure out how to eat on my own, walk around like a genuine adult, but with the emotions My parents said to me, “Kristi, you chose to sacrifce of a 16-yr-old. to God, and sacrifces usually cost us something. Your summer will be harder because of this sacrifce. We One Sunday Benny Hinn was the special speaker, and can’t have you starving, so we will send you some mon- I was so moved by his words and the thought of sac- ey, but we also do not have a lot of money to spare. We rifcing for God. Benny Hinn has many gifts, but he are going to send you $50 dollars, and you are going to was hands-down the best I’ve ever heard at taking up an have to eat on that for the whole remaining 2 months.” offering. And believe me; I have been in many church services over the years. He moved me. I was so grateful for their help, and quickly went to re- trieve the $50 dollars. But then I did the math and real- I decided right then and there to put every dime I had ized it would be very hard to eat for 2 months on that. into the offering plate. But, I actually had all my money for the summer on me. So it all went into the plate. Basically, it boiled down to ramen noodles every day (Maruchan) by the case, and I could not afford to travel Next, he talked about missions and churches across the anywhere on the public transportation. I had to catch globe that had building projects. I also decided that fate- free rides from other students to the grocery store to ful Sunday to make a commitment to send them money stock up on those ramen noodles. And that is how I sur- over the next year to put a roof on a church in India. I vived the summer. knew exactly how much I had made the past year, so that is how much I pledged. I left church that day full What I painfully learned that summer was that God is of excitement! not a vending machine. Sacrifce is exactly that. If you But then reality sunk in. How was I going to eat the rest My parents said to me, of the summer? At frst I thought God would obviously give back to “Kristi, you chose to me double what I had given Him. Isn’t that what the preachers say? I had given everything I had to God, so sacrifce to God, and now He would take care of me. That is how it works, right? I had a few groceries in the cupboard, but as those sacrifces usually cost disappeared and no miracle showed up, I didn’t know what to do. I made it thru one day without food, when us something.” I realized there might not be any miracles. What else 20