How Do You Measure Success?

After a week of sleepless nights, finally dropping into bed at one a.m., then dreaming fitfully and rising again before six, working all day Friday into the late night (with children in tow) and then back up at it again on Saturday to finish all the preparations for the Silent Auctions, it seemed to go well.

The question, of course, is "Is it worth it?" I'm not sure we can answer that question.

We don't remember for sure what we made off the Auction last year, but we think we have a good idea. If our recollections are correct, we made around $300 less this year. I found that staggering considering the many more hours I've invested and the much larger size of both Auctions, filled with real quality items and gift certificates. Our starting inventory this year was certainly way more than we started with last year.

I was discouraged by that and mentioned it to an older male friend. His response?

"That's remarkable, to be only $300 off last year's total!" When he saw the look on my face, he added,

"Patti, do you know how bad things are out there? Unemployment is at a many-year high. Things are REALLY bad out there. To even come close to last year's take is REMARKABLE. We're in a VERY bad recession." Later, my father told me that hundreds of thousands of people are losing their jobs daily.

So, was the Auction a success? I think we have to look beyond the dollar amount (although it seems others think that's quite a successful number) and see some of the stories.

We had an item for a one-hour consultation with a therapist from an organization called "Egoscue". It's a physical therapy method based in Atlanta that has had overwhelming success for people with all types of injuries facing surgery. The bidding on this item spilled over onto a second page and, within the last five minutes, one woman was hovering near it, watchfully making sure she was the final bidder. Obviously, she WANTED that gift certificate.

There were many items that had heavy bidding. There were also some items with almost no bids. One of them was a beautiful couch and matching sleeper loveseat. The truth is, the fabric was a little less than attractive, but the furniture was solid, unbelieveably comfortable, extremely well-made, and in fabulous shape. With a few whispered words, the couch was purchased for someone else, as a gift, and a huge need got met in a wonderful, only-God could've done way.

Another item had a minimum bid. It got NO bids, at all. After all was done and said Saturday night, Don brought it to my attention. We had been given permission by the owners to lower the minimum bid, but no one had caught it, so the item hadn't sold. However, written across the side of the Bid Sheet was a note from someone saying they really wanted the item and how much they were able to pay for it. The amount they could pay was the amount to which I would have lowered the bid, had I caught it in time. Don called the individual and told her and she explained that she desperately has needed that item and hadn't been able to afford it. She was thrilled to be the successful bidder.

Then there were our many friends who just stayed at our sides. The mothers who took their children home, fed them, then returned to help us, without being assigned to the Work List or even being asked. They just showed up to help. And I can't even begin to tell you how many of these people there were. At the end of the night Saturday, there were 4 men who stayed with me, Don and the children, literally, until we had locked the gym up and were in our cars. They stuck it out to the last possible moment with us.

The blessings were poured out, many times over. If success is to be measured broadly, more than just in terms of money, the Silent Auction was a resounding success. People were very happy with their purchases. We made a lot of money. There was a ton of fellowshiping and laughter going on around the tables. And we felt deeply the love and commitment of our friends and family.

It's difficult to express in words, without tears, how amazing this experience was for me. Don and I are both exhausted and he was stressed out beyond belief, but the balm of love that was freely poured out on those wounds more than made up for anything we experienced.

The Lord made two promises to me at the beginning of this whole thing: If I would but do what He told me, He would bless it. In fact, He had already gone before me and was waiting there to bless me and others. And, secondly, that I should pray, because He wanted to soften hardened hearts and would soften them if we would pray. He was true to both promises and, time and again, I was astounded by people's generosity in the midst of difficult times.

A Success? Yes, but so much more. A step in growth of love of God and love of man. And a little fun along the way, to boot.