One of my favorite aspects of the Christmas season is the spirit of giving, which holds true at Fee Fee. Multiple groups and individuals have said thanks in different ways over the past few weeks that I wanted to share with you.

Each week at our Mobile Market, it is guaranteed someone will show gratitude to our volunteers. I was especially moved by a woman who came through the line recently who was so appreciative for the food we gave her, when she told us her family didn’t have any food in the house to eat for breakfast that morning. I felt so many emotions as I heard that story and I was so glad that our church continues to support a ministry like Mobile Market to help families like that one. I am heartbroken there are people in our neighborhood who deal with that level of food insecurity. I am also more determined than ever to continue that ministry. We also recently had a homeschool family call me and say they have benefited so much from our Mobile Markets in the past that they would like to come and serve one week. So, this mom and her four kids came to serve alongside us to show their gratitude for the blessing we played a part in providing.

Another expression of thankfulness came from the Girl Scouts. We host multiple Girl Scout troops here at the church through the year. On one night, three different parents come up to me separately to say how truly thankful they were for the church opening its doors allowing them to meet. As the girls were sitting around laughing with each other and learning from their leader, a parent said to me, “I don’t know if we’d be able to meet without the church. Thank you so much.”

We received a thank you card from Drummond Elementary School this past week. Over the years we have partnered with Drummond in many ways to try and be a blessing. Most recently we provided 13 winter coats for kids in their school that didn’t have them, which we do each winter. The card they gave me said, “Thank you so much for the kind donation of coats to our students. Our partnership is very important to us and we value your dedication in helping our students. We wish you a great holiday season!” As one of the social workers handed me the card, she was gushing with thankfulness for all the different ways we have been a blessing to our community.

This is just a small sampling of the various ways we pursue the good of our community. Church, I tell you all this not to boost your ego, but to make sure you know that what we do here makes a difference for the kingdom of God and for our community. You can make a difference too, through living out the Gospel and by showing kindness and generosity this Christmas season to those around you.