When I first became a Christian, over ten years ago, I heard about this amazing opportunity to pack shoeboxes for children across the globe who did not have presents for Christmas. My heart cried out for these babies, and I jumped at the chance to give them their very own Christmas gifts. I can clearly remember going to the dollar store and buying all of the necessary items to pack two shoeboxes: one from me and one from my seven-year-old niece, Isabella, Bella for short.
I can still see the glimmer in Bella's eyes as we packed the plastic boxes full of stickers, crayons, coloring books, soap, brushes, and toothbrushes. She had wanted to give candy to the kids, and when I explained that candy was not allowed in the shoeboxes, she moped around for a minute. After her moping ended, we began drawing pictures of snowmen on the covers of our Christmas boxes, and we even made Christmas cards for the children who would receive our gifts. Bella's first-grade handwriting covered her card, and I remember she had even drawn a picture of a lopsided Santa inside of her Christmas card... priceless. We had experienced the gift of giving, and it was a magical moment that I will always remember.
This was the beginning of many Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes, and to this day, my husband and I continue to build shoeboxes for well-deserving children across the globe. In fact, we have gotten our seventh grade students involved in the packing. Each year, our middle school students pack shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child, and last year we actually had our first ever packing party with our students. We ate nachos, watched Christmas movies, and packed about fifty plus shoeboxes. This year, we plan to have another packing party, and hopefully we will bypass fifty shoeboxes, once more. The day after our packing party, my husband and I will drive these shoeboxes to our local Chick-Fil-A, in Ontario, which is a drop off site for Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. Heck, Chick-Fil-A even gives out certificates for a free meal for donating a shoebox, our students got a kick out of those last year. It's a win-win.
So, if you're interested in building your own shoebox, click the link below to go to the Operation Christmas Child website in order to find more information about this incredible charity. What better way to begin the season of Thanksgiving then by giving? In my humble opinion, there is no greater joy in life.