Thanks & Giving

My friend Hollie wrote this post last week about Operation Christmas Child. I was so excited to see it because last Sunday when we were visiting the church I grew up in, they had a special presentation of the boxes the church had collected so far. During the last praise song of the morning service, children began to file in down the aisle carrying boxes that had been donated - as many as their little arms could hold. After the first dozen or so kids came in, there were several children pulling wagons filled and overflowing with boxes - boxes full of dolls, and toys, and crayons, and card games, and even more things we take for granted like tooth brushes & paste, wash cloths and underwear. As the children came in they all sat along the steps of the alter. And then as the line grew shorter, my little Abi was the last one to walk in carrying the 392nd shoe box. That was it for me. I guess it never occurred to me that she would be there because we were visiting and she was a year or two younger than any of the others. But nonetheless, there she sat, holding a single shoe box, in the center of the worship center, beaming.

They then handed the microphone to a sweet 8-year-old girl who said a prayer of dedication over the boxes & for the families that would receive them as well as the people who had donated...it was definitely the highlight of the morning's worship for me. I knew at that moment that this was a great opportunity to teach about about "Thanks & Giving." During the car ride home, we talked about the importance of being thankful and how God wants us to share what we have with others. We decided to make boxes for a "special boy" and "special girl" to receive this Christmas. Abi & I made a list of some fun items to include in the boxes along with some staples & toiletries.

I had a schedule work trip on Thursday evening, so we planned Friday was set aside to work on the boxes together. Abi had a such a great time packing the boxes together. I think her only real disappointment was from discovering that she didn't get to personally deliver the boxes to the "special boy" and "special girl."

On Saturday morning, we went to a birthday party for one of Abi's friends; and after that we drove out to the Washington Baptist Association for the OCC drop-off. We were greeted by 3 very friendly faces, and Abi cheerfully gave her boxes to David Self, Director of Missions. We were sent home with cute Operation Christmas Child stickers for Abi & Drew along with commemorative ornament for the event. I look forward to tracking our package to discover the destination of our boxes, and continuing this tradition of "Thanks & Giving" to kick-off the holiday season for many years to come.