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It’s hard to forget life after a hurricane. You may still even be dealing with the after effects of Zeta. There may still be piles of debris in your front yard just waiting to be picked up. You might have a new, shiny, eye popping, blue tarp on your roof ready for your insurance adjustor to review the damage so that you can start the repairing process. So many things are still hanging in the balance.
While my family and I were blessed without any damage from Zeta, that wasn’t the case when Katrina came through the area. Like you, in 2005, we lost our home, belongings, and jobs.
Because of this, for over a year we lived in multiple campers. I swore that after we moved out of those and into an apartment, that I would NEVER want to go back in a camper for the rest of my life. Well….that was 15 years ago! For the last few years, I’ve been itching to go camping again, but with my kids!
You see the reason why it was so strange for me to say I never wanted to be in a tiny home ever again is because I grew up camping! (So you would’ve thought living in one would be a piece of cake for me!) Every fall, my family would go with a dozen other families from our church to a nearby state park. I can’t quite remember what we did during the day, but what I can recall (like it was yesterday) is how we’d sit around the campfire after the sun went down. We’d tell and share stories, laugh until our stomachs hurt, and wouldn’t go to bed until every inch of our noisy, nylon track suit and hair wreaked of campfire smoke.
You know what was so special about it?
We could put aside differences, opinions, and disagreements and just enjoy the bright, dancing flames, the crackling sounds, the delicious, sticky taste of a s’more, the scent of musky smoke from burning pine needles, and the hand warming power of just slightly inching your body 1 degree closer. (Not too close though because your hair had a lot of hairspray in it! It was after all the 90s!) It’s interesting how something as simple as a campfire could join us together.
If a campfire can bring people together from all backgrounds, races, and beliefs, do you think it’s possible for a shoebox to do that too?
It’s one thing that we can all agree has the ability to put the biggest smile on not only the child’s face receiving the gift, but on you and your child’s as well. That’s because you know that you are sharing the love of Christ around the world through a simple gift.
Next week starts collection week for Operation Christmas Child! It’s your chance to brighten and impact the life of a young child and their family.
Want more info on what you should pack in your shoebox? Click here!