Ask Boldly, Receive Abundantly

“Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”

Matthew 7:7 

He almost didn’t do it.

His mom’s diagnosis had turned their world upside down, and he wanted to help. But what could a 14-year-old really do?

The idea had formed in a rush: if he shaved his head, he could raise money for cancer research. But standing on his neighbor’s porch now with a pair of clippers, he felt ridiculous.

He clutched them in his hand like a lifeline. “Uh—hi,” he started, voice cracking. “My mom has cancer. I want to raise money for research, so I’m shaving my head. Would you be willing to donate?”

Silence.

His heart pounded. The awkwardness clawed at him, but then the neighbor asked, “How much are you hoping to raise?”

He shared his goal. It sounded impossible the moment he said it, but the neighbor disappeared inside. When he returned, he handed the boy a check for a thousand dollars. The exact amount!

The boy’s mouth fell open. “Wait. What?”

The neighbor just smiled. “Yeah, and I am also going to talk at our homeowners’ association meeting tonight about how we can do more.”

He walked home with the check in hand, mind spinning. He had expected pocket change. But this? This was so much bigger.

All he had done was ask. And generosity had answered—louder than he ever imagined.

We tell ourselves we are too small to make a difference. That what we have to offer could never be enough. But maybe the real question is not if we can help. Maybe it is whether we are willing to step out, awkward and unsure, and simply try.

Because sometimes, when we do, hope shows up in ways we never saw coming.