It all started with a free Oral B toothbrush my dental hygienist gave me. I didn't put much thought into this toothbrush prior to using it, but boy as I brushed, I was singing it's praises. I walked into the hallway and began to tell Chris and Olivia how awesome this new toothbrush felt. It was like I was giving myself a professional cleaning. This brush has two round sets of bristles in the middle and longer bristles on the sides AND it has a soft rubbery part on the back. I told them if I had known it was going to be that nice I would have used it sooner. End of story? not quite. . . By the time I took Olivia to school and came back home to have my quiet time the Lord had pressed into my heart a very strong point. He said, if I liked that toothbrush so much and I didn't even need it, how much more would someone who really needs one enjoy it? We have some dear friends that we've been exchanging gifts with for years. I love and cherish this small group of friends and enjoy the gift exchange, but somehow this toothbrush issue changed my heart. It's honestly like the Lord said, "Susan why buy your friends another scarf or book to add to their collections when you can pack a toothbrush (and many other items) for a child in need instead? So I prayed about it ... I talked to Chris and Olivia about it and then I typed a letter sharing with my friends what the Lord put on my heart. Instead of us buying for them or them buying for us we could pack shoe boxes in honor of each other. The letters went in yesterdays mail and Olivia and I already shopped and started packing the five shoe boxes after school yesterday. Our church is one of the collection sites so we will drop them off next week. We are so blessed in this country. We use so many things everyday (like a toothbrush) and we don't even give it a second thought. A toothbrush or even a hairbrush will be a luxury item for the child who receives it. Maybe you will consider packing a shoebox in honor of one of your friends? It's fun to shop for the shoebox items and just knowing that we get to be a small part of making a child's day brighter is worth it. I am going to share pictures of some of the items that can be packed in a shoebox. If you are interested contact me or you can go to
www.samaritanspurse.org
We plan to add more candy like lollipops and smarties, but as you can see it's very simple to do. AND you know what the best part is, each of the children will receive information about Jesus. They will know that someone cares about them and that makes me smile. It's the little things friends, the simple, little things that matter most.
Go be a blessing . . .
