I had the opportunity to visit with another pastor this week at a church that was near his own charge. During our visit, we wandered over to another building and witnessed what is no less than amazing grace.
As we entered the other building, I noticed that there were trash bags all around. On each trash bag there was a piece of large masking tape with family names on them. As we stood at the back of the room and watched, we witnessed a woman in tears as she received a bag with her name on it.
What was in the bag you ask...each bag was filled with toys for the children in each of the families named on the outside of the bag.
You see, a church member followed God's calling to help provide for families in need within her community. As this member worked to gather the names of families in need, she soon discovered that this was going to be more than her little church could handle on their own. They ended up developing a non-profit organization called WARM and partnered with Toys for Tots in their area. When the day came for delivery, the donations of toys and funds made by the church and community (as well as the additional resources provided by Toys for Tots), this vision that started with a single woman reached more than 200 families that didn't have the means to provide gifts for Christmas.
While I often wrestle with the consumerist nature of Christmas in our Western world, I am none the less moved by this woman's compassion and vision to reach people right where they are at. I am hopeful, that the love of giving gifts to families to give to their children (when they cannot give their own) will say something about those of us who claim to be Christian. I am prayerful that the tears of joy that we witnessed with this one woman are a reflection of a group of people being Christ to her in a time of need. And I am convinced that this is no less than amazing grace.
Where have you witnessed God's amazing grace this Christmas season?
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