Please-let them have crayons!

So, I guess I "belong" to a church. The difference between being a visitor and a member is committment. It's more than showing up each week, it's getting involved. I am slowly becoming involved. I do go each week (and love it), I do belong to a small group (and look forward to it), and this past Sunday I did my first church activity. The church was collecting shoeboxes filled with toys/candy/etc. for Samaritan's Purse - Operation Christmas Child. These boxes are brought to children all over the world who wouldn't normally receive a Christmas gift...the purpose is to share the love of Jesus! Saturday evening around 8pm I remembered that the boxes were due on Sunday! Oops! Emily and I went to Walgreens and bought some items to fill three boxes. I was so glad that we had her that night. She is a great kid and is very aware (and appreciative) that she has a lot and there are children who don't have much at all. But, a reminder is good (for all of us)! One of the items that we put in the boxes were coloring books. We also put candy, fleece blankets and small toys. I felt so happy walking into church Sunday morning with our boxes. I could have easily dimissed putting them together, but that would just be me ignoring an opportunity and I am trying not to do that anymore.

While I was sitting in church it dawned on me that I didn't put crayons in the boxes...and all I could think was "Oh no, what if they don't have crayons?" "What if I made it worse by giving them an incomplete gift?" "What if they cry because they have coloring books and no way to color?" I couldn't shake it, still can't (obviously if it made it to this blog).

Isn't life like that though??? We see what we didn't do, what we aren't, and we hold on to that ... very tightly, I might add.

I am trying to look at the fact that three children, somewhere in the world, will touch what we have touched, will smile because someone, somewhere thought of them...prayed over the gifts even. Maybe I should have prayed before I went shopping...then I might have remembered to purchase crayons!

This Boy

My parents were recently out of town for a week & being the good neighbors that we are, we took care of their animals. During this time I began walking Rocky, their ten (?) year old German Shepherd. We always had dogs growing up & they were always German Shepherds...Elk, Siva, Poo-Bear, Baron, Bandit - oh, the dogs that I have loved that have been laid to rest. Rocky was abused prior to coming to our family. I never became attached to him the way that I am known to do with dogs because he came later in my life...I was just not around. Plus, he just wasn't your typical dog. He was afraid and rather than giving him love & attention I basically just was annoyed by him. However, that has all changed in a big way. I have since been walking him 1 to 2 times each day. In fact, I look forward to walking him more than I look forward to anything else right now. Cruching through the leaves with him and Roxy has really helped slow me down. I feel more at peace inside. I am finding this to be extremely therapeutic. Rocky's hips are bad, but I can see that he is doing so much better with all the walking. I even run with him! We don't over do it, but we definitely incorporate the running each time we walk. I can feel that we are falling in love with each other. He needs love (his roommate in the kennel is Mick who is the only non-German Shepherd dog (he is an Australian Shepherd) my parents have had is not very nice to Rocky)...and I need to love him. He lets me hug him and pet him and he comes to me now which you have no idea how long that took! Every day I do important things...maintain my relationships, run the business, go to my chamber events...but, somehow walking this boy seems like the most important thing I'm doing. I know when I look back on this time in my life, this season of sadness and wanting...that I will always remember this boy...this boy that heals my heart everytime I let him out of his kennel.