Back in August, I had a conversation with a sweet friend Roseanne about her husband Brian, who had just faced a heartbreaking setback in his career. After being out of work for quite some time, he finally landed an exciting new position, one everyone around them celebrated. But before he even had a chance to really begin, he was unexpectedly let go. They were crushed. Worried what people might think, they were embarrassed and discouraged, as you can imagine.

So we talked about the Rare Faith principles, and how to live and think for the best possible outcomes. We discussed what it means to face our fears and answer the haunting questions, so we can get back to faith and hope, which is where we need to be to get in tune with the inspired, next-step solutions.

Things don't have to BE any different before we start thinking differently about them.

We talked about how Peter was only afraid because he didn't know where the temple tax money was going to come from. If he had known the answer, he wouldn't have been afraid. I asked her, "If you knew where the money you need is going to come from, would you feel afraid?"

We're implored to fear not, and TRUST. Because it is in that state of mind that the Lord CAN deliver. I think about D&C 67:3 where the Lord said, "Ye endeavored to believe that ye should receive the blessing which was offered unto you; but behold, verily I say unto you there were fears in your hearts, and verily this is the reason that ye did not receive" (emphasis added).

So, think about it... If you know ahead of time how a problem is going to work out for you, would you be afraid? He's simply asking us to feel that confidence now. Feel it ahead of time.

That's faith, the rare kind of faith that causes things to happen. And it takes so little of it - like a seed, planted in the right environment, is programmed to automatically multiply.

Roseanne messaged me the next day:

"I woke up this morning feeling so gleeful for you! So grateful that you have spent the last - how many years - to dedicating your life to sharing these principles that I'm sure we were taught before we came to earth, and which feel so familiar to me, as I delve back into them more completely.

"This morning I feel like I am 'in' God’s Economy. It sits different. It doesn’t feel like I’m vacillating between Man’s and God’s…hard to describe…but I feel really good.

"Thanks for the chat yesterday. I don’t think you realize just how much influence you have, as you just spend time talking with people and just trusting that whatever comes out is just what they need. I needed that yesterday, and I am so grateful to you for spending that time with me!

"We told the kids last night about what’s going on. I can’t describe the peace that we felt all night after that. I had no idea what keeping that from them was doing to my nervous system. Thanks for bringing that to my attention yesterday. We have determined to just tell people as they ask, and not be afraid of what they think. It feels like the right step.

"You’re amazing. I love you. And I’m so grateful for your love yesterday on the phone!! Thank you!! May the Lord bless you with all you desire! If there is anything I can do, please reach out!"

I was grateful that reminding her of the principles helped, and asked her to keep me posted on their progress.

Fast forward to November.

She sent me a voice message, which said:

"About a month ago, I read one of your emails about Peter needing to pay the temple tax. Jesus said, 'Well, just go over and get that fish - there’s a coin in there, and you can pay the taxes. Then let’s get back to work.'

"I’ve been thinking about that ever since - this whole idea that the money is where it is. You don’t have to figure it out, you don’t have to know how. It’s just… there. Maybe not falling out of the sky (though, maybe it could!), but it exists somewhere, and it’ll come from wherever it needs to.

"So here we are - Brian and I - and I’m thinking, 'Okay, I don’t know.' We barely made it through last month. He’s been out of work since August 1st, when he was let go. Somehow we’ve managed to pay the bills and rent. We’ve used the credit card some, but we’ve had enough cash to keep up. Now it’s the beginning of November, rent was almost $2,800, and we’ve got the rest of the month’s bills still ahead. I was like, 'Okay, Lord, I don’t know how this is going to work.'

"Last Sunday, I decided to really talk to the Lord about it. I said, 'Okay, by the 10th, something significant has to shift.' My husband's been working in insurance, but he’s barely made anything - presenting a lot, but not closing sales. Maybe he still needs to learn the skills, or maybe it’s just not the right timing.

"I’ve been working my business, but it’s not where I’d like it to be yet. So I told the Lord, 'Something has to change by the 10th.' My husband said, 'Let’s give it until the 20th before we go talk to the bishop,' but I really didn’t want to have to do that.

"We prayed and fasted about it that Sunday.

"Now, over the past six months, there’s been this guy - says he’s a GoDaddy broker - who’s been reaching out to me about buying my Dad’s Academy website domain. He claimed he had a buyer willing to pay $150. I thought, This has to be a scam. Sometimes I’d ignore him, and other times I’d test him: 'What about $350?' Then I’d ignore him again. A month later, maybe I’d say, '$750.' Then later, '$1,500.' Still, I didn’t hear much back.

"Then around October 20th, he emailed again, saying, 'I’m real. I really work for GoDaddy, and I have a serious buyer for your Dad’s Academy domain.'

"So I called GoDaddy to check. I asked if this guy was legit - if they even had brokers. They looked him up and confirmed he did work for them. They explained the process, and it all checked out.

"So I figured, What the heck. I paid about $35 for that domain five years ago and never really used it. If he’s serious, I’ll just say $3,500 and see what happens.

I" didn’t hear anything for a bit. Then, about a week ago - last Wednesday or Thursday - we needed to pay tithing. It was a real stretch for me, but I said, 'Okay Lord, here’s my tithing. I’m trusting You and the windows of heaven. I know You’ll provide.' And I paid it.

"That same day, the guy called me - not emailed, but called. He said, 'We’ve got the funds. $3,500 is ready. I can’t hold them forever. Do you want to get paid?'

"I told him I’d been skeptical and never got the link he said he’d sent back on October 23rd. He offered to resend it, so I logged into GoDaddy’s secure system, entered my bank info - even my Social Security number - hoping it was all legit. It seemed secure, so I went ahead.

"Then I got an email confirming that payment was scheduled - 1 to 5 business days. This was on Friday. So I waited through the weekend, knowing Monday was the 10th - the date I’d told the Lord something needed to shift.

"Well, this morning - November 10th - I woke up to a $3,500 deposit in my checking account. For a domain I bought five years ago for $35! Isn’t that just crazy? I had to share that with you." 

Roseanne, this is amazing!

I am always amazed but never surprised.

This is why the Rare Faith blog exists, to bring together the hundreds of stories like this one, to help you believe that miracles are possible for you, too.

I asked if she could point to any of the Rare Faith "steps" we talk about in our courses, and her reply was:

"Honestly, it was just to seek and expect miracles. I think the Lord is trying to show me that He is the provider, and so I was just having to go all in with that, and say 'OK, this is what I need, and I'm just here. I'm not going to be attached to any outcome of the how, I just know this is what I need, and I know you'll show up somehow... and it was just fun to see the miracle, and the way he wanted to do it.

"So yeah, I didn't intentionally say 'I'm following this principle,' I think the Lord is just showing me how He works. I mean, of course he works with those principles ... but, just simplified in my mind, it's just seek and expect miracles, and trust him. Anyway, that's just kind of how I approached this one."

I told her:

"That's perfect, because what I hear you saying, is that you faced the dilemma and kept fear at bay. In all of my experimenting, with all of the different elements like visualizing and feeling and everything else, those certainly help because they increase our confidence and tune us in to our next right steps, but the one thing that seems to matter most, and which really is the only important key, is to move forward without fear."

I added:

"That's one of the hardest things to explain and teach, but you just demonstrated it."

_______________

So let this be a reminder: We don't have to do "all the things" perfectly!

What matters most is to acknowledge what you need, believe that the Lord will help you (can you see yourself being amazed at grateful that He did?), move forward in the best way you know how, and then simply "keep calm, and watch what happens."