Early Christmas Coincidence

Ever wondered if the little decisions you make in a day's time matter?

I have some days. Other days I've known without a doubt one decision made all the difference.

Today was one of those days.

It started normally enough... the alarm went off. I groaned. Then I stayed in bed wondering what today would hold, praying some, organizing what I knew had to be done.

We'd planned to go shopping for our yearly Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes earlier this week. But lots of ordinary things prevented us. So we went today.

All pretty ordinary. Shopping commenced with candy, toys, toothbrushes, and conversation about the child who would receive the box we were packing.

We hurried home, wrapped and packed our shoebox, then hurried to make it to a processing center to drop off our gift.

This was the first time we haven't dropped our shoebox off at church with a prayer and a hope it would brighten a child's Christmas.

This time we stumbled into a moment in time that had God's handiwork written all over it.

We thought we were late, that we were skirting into the processing center right before it closed. Instead we landed smack dab in the middle of a family day event we hadn't signed up for, hadn't planned to attend, but were invited into anyway.

There we saw a shoebox's journey from a child's hands in the US to a child's hands in another country.

We saw what a difference little choices make. The toothbrushes we pack every year could be a first time gift of better health. A sewing kit prayed over by my child could help another child earn money to keep her family alive.

Little things to us, little toys or a bag of candy, might mean our child hears the Good News of Jesus for the first time in her life. The love we packed into that small box could open up a child's heart to hearing that someone who doesn't even know her cared enough to send a shoebox so that the One who knows every hair on her head could be shared with her forever.

Little "coincidences" got us to this moment in time today. A moment when my little girl who wants to be a doctor saw doctors with Samaritan's Purse helping children and adults in Haiti. Something flamed in her eyes as she looked up at me and said, "I'm going to do that someday."

Something flamed in all of us today. A desire to be part of something much bigger than any one of its human parts. A longing to do something to bring joy and the love of Christ to many.

An understanding that packing a shoebox was so much more than a holiday tradition. It was hope disguised as a simple cardboard box. A simple gift that could change a life.

I have no idea what God is up to with all He organized today. But I'm convinced today wasn't about coincidences. It was all about God- incidences.

I can't wait to see what He's up to next.

To learn more about Operation Christmas Child, check out the Samaritan's Purse website.