Okay. It's 3:06 am and my mind is spinning. I can't complain. I've had a solid week or more of good nights of sleep.
But now it's almost August. The packing party date of September 17th is looming nearer, and, just like other years, I don't have any real organization in place for recruiting volunteers.
A few days ago I saw a great post on Facebook. Another avid shoebox family who is praying and planning for a 20,000 box packing party the week before ours got a wonderful donation. They received 16 pallets of donated school supplies. They were also blessed to have a trucking company come forward to pick up the donation and give them a trailer for storage.
I'll confess; my very first thought was, "Why haven't I ever had a donation like that?" But right on the heels of that I felt God asking, "Am I not enough for you?" I had to quickly repent and thank God for the truth that He IS enough. He has always come through for us and provided for every need for our packing parties.
He provides for each of these precious shoeboxes in His own way. Maybe you've been reading this blog for some time now and, as I've written about God's provisions, maybe you've wondered why He hasn't given you a $100 gift card...or prompted someone on the other side of the country to send you stuffed animals.
Whatever your situation, you can be sure He is enough. If He's called you to pack one shoebox, He will provide all you need to do it. If He's called you to pack 100 shoeboxes, He will provide all you need to do it. If He's called you to pack 1,000 shoeboxes...well...you get the idea.
Just hours after I heard of that 16 pallet donation, I met with a blog reader from Canada who was passing through our city on the way to vacation. She had the back of her car stuffed with items for our packing party--several hundred stuffed animals and also hundreds of filler items.
She said she spent 40 hours over the past week assembling a few hundred colorful themed 'school kits' in plastic bags.
Her family's generosity is just one of the many ways God provides for our packing party.
If He's called you to pack boxes I'm sure you have stories to share about His provision. Or, maybe you don't have stories because you are blessed with enough funds to just head for the store and buy whatever you need for your boxes without thinking much about it. If that's the case, it's still all His provision, right?
So, tonight, as I sit here thinking about all the prep work that still needs to be done... and wondering who will recruit and manage the needed volunteers...and pondering when to begin an online fundraising campaign to raise funds for shipping our boxes...
I'm just going to breathe in the memories of all His goodness and remind myself again (and again, and again) that He is ALWAYS enough.
The verse from Matthew 7:7-12. My prayers will be for you to put together a plan to recruit volunteers.
ReplyDeleteRecruit online, in the news paper, on the radio, in church bulletins, and on TV. Be specific about who you want, what you want done, when you want it done, and how you want it done. Do you have enough items for all of your boxes? Can I pray for more items? Always praying for fundraising.
Ok Lord, Miss Kathy has needs for help to find just the right person or persons to lead volunteers to work with "GO" boxes not just during packing party, but year round. You will also help her find just the right young person who understands computers well enough to setup and manage the online fundraising campaign to ship all of the "GO" boxes. Thank you for providing and answering when we ask.