We saw God work and provide in amazing ways this holiday season. Because of so many people opening their hearts and giving, we were able to bless many families. It’s easy to get caught up in the commercialism and craziness of Christmas and forget what it is all about. Many of our families don’t have that choice. For them, Christmas can be a reminder of how little they have and a discouragement as they desire to buy gifts for their families but are unable to. As we saw God provide, I was so thankful to see many who received give the glory and credit to God. To me, that meant more than the gifts they received. We serve a Heavenly Father who truly desires to give us good gifts! The greatest being eternal life through the gift of His own Son.
For our kids, we were able to host a Christmas party at Revival Tabernacle here in Highland Park. North Park Baptist Church from Grand Rapids MI returned for their second year to put on this event. It included singing, games, Christmas cookies, a Bible lesson and loads of fun. The most exciting part is one of our children accepted Christ as their Savior at this event!
As many of you know, we do a Thanksgiving food box delivery every year. We always encourage those delivering to be sensitive to the needs of our families and to pass any of those needs onto us. This year, one of the food boxes went to a grandmother who recently received custody of four of her grandchildren. She was in need of beds for the kids to sleep on among many other things. The women who delivered food felt moved to do something to help this family. Along with contacting friends, they wrote a letter to a local radio station- who then responded and surprised our family not only with beds but also Christmas presents, a tree, a dining room table, clothes…the list goes on! Again, this grandmother was rejoicing as she saw God’s hand in providing for her family. She faithfully attends church with her children each week and desires for them to follow Christ.
We also were able to give five of our families an opportunity to do their Christmas shopping at Meijer here in the Detroit area. The Detroit Lions Bible study group gave money for local families in need to receive gift cards to do their Christmas shopping. Even though the Lions don’t have the best reputation in winning this year, I can tell you this group of players are busy storing up treasures in heaven! Being present the night the families received the gift cards and did their shopping was incredible. These were families who really didn’t think they had ways to provide gifts for their kids and now were given that opportunity!
On top of all this, we also did a Christmas food box/gift delivery again this year. It was great to have so many come out to deliver and we are thankful for those involved in coordinating sponsors to donate gifts for our kids. We were able to bless close to 50 families with food and all of the kids involved in our programs with Christmas presents.
I was blessed to be able to talk to some of our families individually as they shared with me how these maybe seemingly small acts of love encouraged them. It made me so thankful to be a part of the body of Christ and see people so willing to give, even if they didn’t know who the gifts were going to.
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