It's Not About the Outcome

I’ve learned to be selective about volunteering my time at school. If I’m not, I can quickly fill my calendar with too many commitments. You all experience the same thing, I know. Last week, I was asked to help sell tickets to a fundraising event for the middle school orchestra which my daughter plays in, so I agreed. The day before turned out to be “one of those days”, so by the time Thursday rolled around, I was a little frazzled. But, being a stickler for following through on commitments and doing what I say I am going to do, I got myself ready to go even though my heart was not in it. I had to be in several different places that morning and knew adding this one thing to the mix was going to require a lot of running from one place to the next in the span of just a couple of hours.

While working out the logistics in my head, I got the kids in the car, dropped them off at school, and headed back home only to turn around and go back to school 30 minutes later to fulfill my obligation. In front of the school there was a large, colorful banner promoting our event. I sat next to the banner with Bill, the Orchestra Director, watching cars pass us by occupied by uninterested drivers. After a few minutes, I turned to Bill and said, “What we need are some signs that say BUY TICKETS HERE so these people know why we are sitting here!” He enthusiastically jumped out of his seat and ran inside to make signs.

While he was inside, a man driving a convertible drove past me, pulled over, and got out of his car with his daughter. To get into the school, they had to walk past me, and as they did I smiled and politely asked him if he was interested in purchasing tickets for our event. He was very friendly, smiled at me, said “No thank you, but I’ll give you a donation” and pulled a $20 bill out of his wallet, handing it to me. I thought to myself, “How nice was that?” and expressed my appreciation by thanking him as he continued walking towards the school entrance.

Minutes later, Bill came out carrying two signs that read BUY TICKETS HERE. He handed one to me, and kept the other. In an effort to draw attention to our efforts (and entertain me at the same time), he began jumping in front of (stopped) cars in the carpool line, earnestly waving his sign. While it wasn’t selling many tickets, it was successful at making almost every parent driving through the carpool line laugh hysterically! He was certainly creating awareness! Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed the donor from earlier exiting the building, this time alone. I told Bill about his donation, to which he responded by eagerly greeting the man and thanking him for his support. While they talked, I continued to wave my sign at friends and strangers alike, overhearing some of their conversation. When their dialogue ended and the generous donor walked back to his car, we again shouted words of thanks to him. Then, something amazing happened. He turned and waved at us, shouting “I’ll send a check for $2000.00 by way of the school for your organization.” Bill and I looked at each other, astonished, knowing very well that he was serious. And he was. Later that night, we received an e-mail from him detailing the arrangements he made to make a donation to our organization from his family’s foundation.

Now, the reason I tell this story is this. In all honesty, I was quite skeptical about the idea of selling tickets in the carpool line. The reason for my skepticism was my focus on the outcome. What I forgot to consider was this. When we show up and do our part (honor our commitments), God shows up too. And not only does He show up, He does immeasurably more than we could ever ask or imagine! Or said another way, He accomplishes infinitely more than we might ask or think! (Ephesians 3:20). Just another one of those moments when I’m reminded that while I am powerless over the outcome regardless of my efforts, I do serve a powerful God!