"There is a time to be born and a time to die." I commented lately that I seem to send more sympathy cards than any other type these days. I suppose it's my age, but it seems like every week a friend or relative of someone I know has died.
Just this past Sunday morning my friend's mother died, followed by my Operation Christmas Child team Prayer Coordinator's father on Monday morning. These are answers to prayer--though not always the happy ones we envision. To be "present with the Lord", though, is surely a blessing.
But God, in His mercy, sometimes brings beauty from ashes to those of us still walking the journey.
Such was the case when a co-worker's mother died unexpectedly a few weeks ago. This dear woman had a beloved collection of stuffed Boyd's bears. Some of them were given to her family and friends as a way to remember her and my co-worker called last week and asked if I'd be interested in having the remainder for our Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Well, of course!
Pictured above are some of the 70 beautiful and new-with-tags high-end collectible stuffed bears that are absolutely adorable. They represent hundreds of dollars of investment that will now be invested in the lives of needy children who will cherish them.
Another answer to prayer. Beauty from ashes.
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