TELL US THE STORY

Tell us the story. I stood by the donation jar at our Women’s Bible Study with our bible study leader Liza Laizure. I knew we didn’t make our goal…a very lofty goal I might say. Time was ticking before the Teddys would be too late for Christmas. As I started to pack the teddy bears two women introduced themselves to me. I remembered their names from the donations they had sent me the day before. One of the women asked for me share the story of “Operation Teddy Bear”. As always, I was good until I started to tell them the part of the children and their losses. At the end of the story the other woman said “ can we count the money?” Hesitantly, I counted the money. Although generous it wasn’t enough. The other woman asked how short was the goal. I told her. Both of them said to count the money again…three times to be exact. And at that we had a total of what was needed. One of the women said “ it’ll be in your account tomorrow “. To my shock I said “ you mean $. ? She smiled. Of course she knew it. We had counted the money three times. It was the story that she had been waiting to hear. At the same time there was another woman who had asked to hear the story too. She was young, just helping to pick up the pens after the bible study. Filled with compassion, she said she would be right back. With only a few dollars to her name she gave it all. This story isn’t just about the generosity of those who could and those that really couldn’t. It’s also not about the children who are going to be receiving these teddy bears. This is a love story about God. I have learned time and time again with any project God has me involved with that is ALWAYS about more than the project. He reaches out to people in various ways to touch their lives…a message of His love for them. And this is no different. From the people at Chase bank, Build-A-Bear, my neighborhood, the Women’s Bible Study, those on FB, friends, our financial advisor, a woman in Kansas who is printing the little t-shirts, and all those we have been in contact with in Marshall, North Carolina, God shows all of them that He loves them, has compassion for the needy, and can do any miracle, big or small. But, more importantly, He reminds all of us about the real story… the story about Jesus. His birth, death, and resurrection. He came to save us and will one day be coming back to bring us to our final home with him in heaven. And that my friend is what this story, Operation Teddy Bear, is all about. Like the little Tshirt says “ Jesus (heart) Me”. Thank you to all that donated to make this happen. The next story? Stay tune….