My friend Kim is one of the kindest most giving people I know. She would never say anything bad about anyone and she would do anything for you. She has such a big heart especially when it comes to dogs. She has her dogs, her daughters’ dog, and rescue dogs, foster dogs etc. She loves them! One of her passions is participating in search and rescue with her dog Violet. Recently, Violet sustained an injury during search and rescue tearing her Achilles tendon. Ouch! Very painful and she needed surgery….to the tune of around $3,000. We know with pets these things can creep up on you and it isn’t always something you have cash on hand to handle.
Another thing I also know about Kim is that she has faith. Not small faith but big faith! She loves the Lord and believes He can meet her needs. But here’s the thing. If Kim would have said, “Lord heal my sweet Violet. You know God I don’t have the $3,000 needed for surgery so you need to heal her.” She believes in her heart that God would do just that. Knowing the Bible, the Word of God like Kim does, she also knows that it says “Faith without works is dead”. James 2:17 says just this. You can’t have just faith and you can’t have just action. You need both. I love the way the Message Translation says it:

“Dear friends, do you think you’ll get anywhere in this if you learn all the right words but never do anything? Does merely talking about faith indicate that a person really has it? For instance, you come upon an old friend dressed in rags and half-starved and say, ‘Good morning, friend! Be clothed in Christ! Be filled with the Holy Spirit!’ and walk off without providing so much as a coat or a cup of soup—where does that get you? Isn’t it obvious that God-talk without God-acts is outrageous nonsense?

So, Kim and her daughter Sarah got busy organizing a fundraiser. It consisted of, securing a local restaurant, gathering items for a Chinese auction, and spreading the word to family and friends. From start to finish was 20 days!!! There were like 65 items donated from gift certificates to baskets to nice jewelry! The restaurant also donated 10% of the proceeds from that day! I was so amazing at the hard work and all that was accomplished in that short time. Instead of just speaking her faith, she put it into action and planned (in a ridiculously short amount of time) a great fundraiser.

Her faith doesn’t stop there. She needed to believe that people would actually come to the event! But here is where God really blessed her. You see, Kim has sown seed into soooo many people’s lives! She has been there countless times and people love her. Luke 6:38 says “If you give to others, you will be given a full amount in return, It will be packed down, shaken together, and spilling over into your lap. The way you treat others is the way you will be treated.” CEV

Because of Kim’s faith, God showed Himself faithful. She had an amazing turnout and reached her goal!

Through my own current situation dealing with tumors I draw from her faith. I believe that God still heals people. I know that He can take these tumors away! My action is to still keep my surgery scheduled and trust in modern medicine which is also a gift from God. I am preparing for my time after surgery and resting before.

Thank you Kim for being not only a great friend, but a true living example of what it means to have faith and live a life of a Bible believing, Jesus loving, Christian woman.