This week has been nuts. You see, it's National Collection Week for Operation Christmas Child... yay! Since our church is serving as a Relay Center (and I am the coordinator), I have been at church every day this week collecting boxes, packing them, and organizing volunteers to help. It has been crazy and busy and stressful and wonderful.
This morning, I arrived at church to set up for our OCC collection. Meanwhile, our church's food pantry was buzzing with activity. Every Saturday morning, we open our pantry to those in need. Being the week before Thanksgiving, there were 144 families there today. Wow! The little hallway was packed with people waiting for their number to be called so that they could "shop" our pantry. At the same time, my volunteers and I were hauling in and packing over 130 shoebox gifts that will be sent around the world this Christmas.
As I stood back amidst all of the busyness and chaos around me, I thought to myself, This is church. This is what the church was meant to be. This is real church.
Church is not a building. It is not a service or a worship song or an offering. It is not a program or a sermon. Sure, those things are good parts of being in the body of Christ, but the Church is just that - the body. And today, I got to see that Church working hard to serve the world around us.
It was a beautiful sight.
So today, I am thankful for my church. I am thankful for Operation Christmas Child and the incredible ministry they have. And I am thankful for the people of the pantry who gave up their Saturday morning to serve local families in need.
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