John 13:34-35
A new command I give you, Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one
another. By this all men will know that
you are my disciples, if you love one another.
A couple of weeks ago, our homeschool group had the
opportunity to lend a hand at the local Food Net Food Bank in our community.
The kids were very excited to be a part of
something that would mean a great deal to so many people.
We helped sort food into boxes that were to be
picked up, and brought to nearby distributing locations.
I was very impressed with the hard work that came
out of these little ones.
Whatever they were asked to do, they did with a
smile on their face and without complaint.
It may look like it wasn't that big of a deal,
placing cans and boxes of food inside carboard boxes, but there is so much more
that goes within those cardboard boxes that can't be seen with the naked eye.
When I was a teenager, my mother, sister and
myself lived in the housing projects.
My mother was a single mom, who was very sickly,
so we lived on government assistance.
Every Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday for four
years, my uncle would show up at our door with a box of food for us.
It had come from our local community food drive.
My sister and I were always excited to see what
was in the box.
We would recieve everything we needed for our
holiday dinner and sometimes a little extra to help fill in the gaps within
some hard times.
We never doubted that our box had God's hand
placed on it, especially when we would find the chocolate cake mix and chocolate
icing inside.
That definitely was a gift from God straight from
Heaven!!
We knew that someone had taken time out of their
busy schedule, to prepare that box just for us.
We also knew, that someone who may or may not
have been in need themselves, had given a simple can of green beans, a box of
instant potatoes, or a cake mix to their local charity organization, to help
give a family like ours a hot meal to eat and to make memories around, for the
holiday.
That cardboard box was filled with more than food
to fill our bellies.
That cardboard box was filled with someone's love
and time!!
If it weren't for those boxes delivered to us for
each holiday, we may not have been able to have the traditional dinners that
come with those special holidays.
Isaiah 58:10
If you give some of your own food to feed those
who are hungry and to satisfy the needs of those who are humble, then your
light will rise in the dark and the darkness will become as bright as the
noonday sun.
When we were told that this field trip had been
planned for our homeschool group, I immediately signed us up for it.
I was excited and honored, to be able to be on
the other end of that box, and I felt it important to show my children how to
be a blessing to others.
It felt wonderful to be the one putting the food
in the box for that family in need.
You never know who that family could be.
It could be the family whose father recently lost
his job and hadn't had the opportunity to find a new one.
It could be the elderly widowed woman who lives
by herself.
It could be the family who simply can't afford an
extravagent meal for the holidays, because all of their hard earned money has
gone to putting a roof over their heads.
It could be that single mom who is struggling to
put food on the table all by herself.
It could be that military wife who is at home
alone with her three small children, whose husband is fighting for our country
on a foreign soil.
It could be any of us.
At one time or another, we have all had our hard
times and have been in some sort of need.
What a blessing it was to be a part of putting love in a cardboard box!
It's
wonderful to know that there are organizations like the Food Net Food Bank,
where you can be a blessing and receive a blessing all in one place!!
Christmas is fastly approaching, and the need is great!
If you would like to help out in anyway, please
contact your local food bank or click the link below for more information:
Donations are accepted year round!
On behalf of our homeschool
group, I'd like to thank the people at Food Net for their hard work, and for
allowing our group to partake in such a great blessing. I'd also like to thank Carlie Faulk for
arranging the fieldtrip and providing a great opportunity for our kids to get
involved with helping our local community.
Have a blessed holiday season!
it feels so good to be able to do for someone else the thing that made you feel so covered in love, doesn't it.
ReplyDeletethis is beautiful!!!!!
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