We Love Valentine’s Day!

At Joni and Friends we love to celebrate Valentine’s Day, but we do it in a very unique way. Back in January, we asked our radio listeners to send in gifts, cards, and packages for 5 different special-needs families who are going through a particularly rough patch. You ought to see the cards and gifts that have poured in! Our faithful volunteer, Kaye, has the mighty task of sorting through bins of mail and divvying up the gifts and cards to the appropriate families. For many years, Kaye has enjoyed the sole task of lovingly sorting and packaging these gifts, and every year she chides, “Don’t ever get anyone else to do this. I would be heart-broken; I love helping in this way.”

When I see how the body of Christ responds to these families, I can understand why Kaye receives such a blessing – even I’m overwhelmed by the overflow of gift cards, heartfelt notes, quilts, and other ‘little surprises’ that fill our mailroom! And the people who send all this encouragement don’t even know these families. It’s a beautiful picture of the family of God living out I Timothy 6:18, “… be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others.”

So, you can see why we really look forward to Valentine’s Day at Joni and Friends. Five big boxes were mailed last week, and today is the day each family will receive their ‘mother lode’ of Christian love. They will open those boxes and a flood of encouragement will remind them, once again, how very much God cares for their needs. You may know someone who needs a little Valentine reminder of how much God loves them; why not send that special someone a text or an uplifting note? It won’t cost you much, and the impact will be… priceless!