(Judges 6:37,38 NIV) Gideon said to God, "If you will save Israel by my hand as you have promised—look, I will place a wool fleece on the threshing floor. If there is dew on the fleece and all the ground is dry, then I will know that you will save Israel by my hand, as you said." And that is what happened.

Soon after asking God for a new direction in my life I had no doubt about the answer. On weekends I shared Jesus with thousands as a Christian clown. Now I had discovered a school that gave expert tuition in creative witnessing. This was for me! All I needed to do was leave a career that was difficult to re-enter, and find money for fees. Definitely a major challenge, and just what I wanted to do. But was it what God wanted?

My unconvinced mum thought I should follow her family's tradition of putting God to the test like Gideon when faced with major decisions. It made sense to me as a child, but continuing the tradition wasn't a high priority anymore. After all, nothing in my life remotely measured up to Gideon's challenge: attack the neighbouring countries' armies with a bunch of poorly-armed farmers and set God's people free. For the lesser challenges of life it seemed more realistic to use God-given brains and reasoning ability. So the suggestion to put my latest plans to a Gideonstyle test wasn't received with much enthusiasm. Especially when remembering that God had the option of saying "No"!

Reluctance finally dissolved and I was willing to accept God's answer. What would my "fleece" be? Examining my financial affairs made it obvious. Early one morning I prayed, "Lord, you know my dream. It's impossible for me to raise the money. Please provide what I need by yearend if this is what you want me to do."

That evening I chatted with a visiting pastor at prayer meeting. He offered financial assistance if I pursued my dream—and I hadn't even mentioned the prayer or money! In the new year my old career was over. My year of learning to share Jesus creatively and professionally was fully paid for, without asking for a cent from anyone. And at the end of the studies, unlimited adventures in sharing Jesus were just waiting to start.

Thanks Gideon. Thanks mum. Thank you God!

—Graeme Frauenfelder