It has been a kinda crazy last few days. Tuition for Spring term was due last week which always leads to a very busy week at work. On Friday a co-worker of mine passed away very suddenly. She had been out for a surgery for the last few months and had just come back to work in the last week. She passed out while at work on Friday, was transported to the hospital and died shortly after. She was a wonderful God-fearing woman and will be missed beyond all measure by many more than just those of us she worked with.

Then on Friday afternoon I took off to Boone, NC with the youth from our church for our annual trip to help process shoe boxes for shipment at the Samaritan’s Purse, Operation Christmas Child warehouse. If you don’t know about this incredible ministry (I’m not sure how you missed it) check it out.

It is a trip that brings great amount of joy to all of us who go. The short version is they send out shoe boxes packed by folks from around the country with goodies, the Gospel, and the tools for local missionaries to share the love Christ with children around the world.

In terms of the history of this event in our church, I’m a newbie. I’ve only been for the last three years. The first year was just overwhelming to see the process, the amount of energy and volunteers that go into this simple yet powerful ministry.

The idea is so simple and may not seem to carry much value to some. However, I find it to one of the most beautiful ways we can share God’s word with the world. Why? We get to pack love and joy into a box that goes on without us. That means we can’t get in the way of Christ when that box shows up in the hands of child who has not yet experienced limitless mercy and grace.  Our personal baggage and sinfulness isn’t there to dilute the goodness.

I also get to go with some of the most amazing young people I know along with one of my best friends who is the youth leader. These teenagers remind me every year that we have reason to look with hope toward the future. They reflect Christ back to a world that desperately needs to see them lead in a way that merits following.

While I love to go on this trip, it also means I have to leave the family at home. Monkey wasted no time protesting my absence and started having seizures on Friday night and continued on through the weekend. Hopefully, he’ll be over this round soon. I know this sounds crazy, but we’re not sure he can’t have them on demand. He was certainly not looking at me very nicely as I left.

We have a doctors appointment on Tuesday with a new neurologist that we hope to be promising and more useful moving forward.

It also appears that Christmas is next week… whew. I don’t think I’m there yet.