Getting on my shoebox

Dear Kari,

I'll try not to be too preachy. However, I just have to let you and our readership know about a terrific effort called, Operation Christmas Child. My church participates in it each year and we got our first announcement about it yesterday.

I hope your church and any service organizations you are a part of plan to participate in this effort or others like it.

Sometimes, people might ask, are such things worth it? People overseas have so many needs that this seems too little. But given the choice of doing what we can versus doing nothing at all, I think it is a no-brainer. And maybe someday, we will find ourselves doing more. In the end, the emotional struggle we face when we open our eyes to see the needs of the world is the realization there is so much of it and then the temptation to despair leading to inaction. This train of thought must be resisted.

I hope these kinds of efforts here and overseas will gather support.

I'll get off my soapbox now.

Be well,
Rene