Why we give

Did you know that St. Louis Bread Co has a program that allows you to pay more for some meals and they will use that extra to help feed those that don't have enough?  My husband says they've been doing it for a while but I didn't know about it until I read one of those little things they put on the tables while we were there for lunch.  On the little paper tent, it informed the reader (reminded me) that approximately one in six people IN OUR COUNTRY are struggling with hunger.  My heart hurt when I read it and I wondered again how many faces I see each week that are a part of that "one." Oh, how i wish it were none!

Last week I read a blog that reminded me of why Bear Necessities began.  It began because of hunger.  The crazy thing is that it isn't even the kind of hunger that most people think of when they first hear about what we do.  Yes, we provide food for kids every single week and that is clearly about their physical hunger but the author of this blog, Ann Voskamp, was talking about another hunger that we all have... the hunger to bring something... some kind of offering to God.  She spoke about the widow in Luke 21 who brought a meager two copper coins and lovingly placed them in the temple treasury and how Jesus said that she'd put in more than anyone because she gave all she had.  Ann spoke of listening to a teacher from Compassion teaching some children in Uganda that they, too, can give to God and that they didn't have to wait until they had much to give and how the giving is what made them rich. 

I know from talking with some of you that some of you are not what the rest of the world would call "rich" and yet, you give.  Week after week, you give.  Some of you have confessed that you don't know why you feel compelled to give but you do... week after week.  I truly believe that it is to meet the need of THAT hunger that Ann wrote about, just as much as the physical hunger of the children, for which God called Bear Necessities into existence. 

Thank you for joining me and bringing our offerings together!



Bags will go home again on July 2 and we need the following for that to happen:

14 individual cereal boxes
5 peanut butter
20 easy mac envelopes
14 green beans
2 cans soup
9 corn
7 boxes of raisins
6 pudding cups