Lessons Learned Giving Christmas Cards

  For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counseller, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.  Isaiah 9:6
 

     I thought I would pop on this week with an update on the Christmas cards ministry post.  If you missed that post about how you can start a Christmas card ministry, you can get caught up here.  This was our first year making Christmas cards for local nursing homes, and it was such a blessing.  So come along and join us for the fun!

     The last day had come.  Tomorrow was the day when all the Christmas cards needed to go out.  This was exciting.  It was also overwhelming.  There were stacks of cards that still needed to be finished as well as a lot of cards that weren’t even started.  Well, there wasn’t much else to do besides get after it.  And get after it we did. 

     Almost all day long we were busy writing in the cards, sticking in Bible verses, putting pictures on the fronts, and taping on embellishments.  While my sister and I did a lot of this, my parents were also involved with cutting things out, putting the animal card tracts and BBN Invitation to Listen cards in the Christmas cards, and stuffing Christmas cards into envelopes.  We also stuffed the cards that our good friends, Grace and Lizzie, had made.  Their cards were such a big help.

     Toward evening, it was obvious that we were still a long way from our goal.  We could probably have the cards all ready for every nursing home but one.  The other one would have to wait.  Or would it?  My sister was not ready to give up that easily.  Around 10 we moved our card party to our bedroom.  We listened to a YouTube video as we worked, and then to the tune of peaceful Christmas music, we kept on going.  

Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.  Luke 2:14

Lesson 1: Don’t Wait!

     While we started out strong, there were times in our card making project that we got burned out.  We went for days at a time without working on it at all.  As you can see, this resulted in a very hectic day of card making.  If we had worked on the project more consistently, we might have gotten a few more hours of precious sleep.  

     Also, now that we know about this project and hope to do it again next year, we are planning to pace ourselves and work on it throughout the year.  I think that this is a great idea since the Christmas season is often really busy.  This is a Christmas ministry that you can do ahead and have ready.  Besides, who doesn’t want the opportunity to be in the Christmas spirit all year long?!

     It was not easy to crawl out of bed a few hours after finishing the majority of the cards.  But, special Christmas deliveries don’t wait!  We had an exciting morning ahead of us.  As Dad drove, my sister and I added Bible verses to the last few cards.  We finished up and even made sure we had a few extras.  While the nursing homes had given us the number of residents they had, we knew that there was a chance that number had changed.  We certainly didn’t want anyone to be left out.  So, we didn’t stop until we had a few extra cards ready, just in case.  By the way, cutting out Bible verses is a lot easier to do on the couch than in a moving vehicle.  See Lesson 1!

Lesson 2: Make a few extra.

     This is pretty self explanatory.  Nursing home numbers fluctuate quite a bit, so it is good to have a few extra Christmas cards made ahead.  If you don’t end up needing them, then you can save them for the next year.  If you don’t write the year in them that is.  I wrote 2020 in my cards, but my sister didn’t put the year, so we knew that we could save her cards if we had any left over.  Are you wondering if we had any cards left over to use in Christmas of 2021?  Keep reading!

     One by one, Dad called the nursing homes.  The first one he called had 1 new person.  Okay, we had that covered, and we dropped off their cards, but what about the others?  Our hearts sank a little when Dad called the next one.  They had 9 new people!  Well, so much for that.  With 10 extra people total, our stock of extra Christmas cards was used up and then some.  This meant that we would only be able to do three nursing homes and our late night was in vain.  Actually it wasn’t in vain, we consoled ourselves, because without it we wouldn’t have even had enough cards for the three biggest homes. 

     Then I had an idea.  What if Dad called the other two nursing homes.  It was possible, just possible that they had gone down in number.  So, he called the next nursing home, and, can you believe it?  They had gone down by 10 people!  This meant that we had a good chance of doing all of the nursing homes because the last one to be called was small.  Sure enough, they had gone down by 3 people.  We now had enough cards for each home, plus three surplus cards for next Christmas!  

Lesson 3: Re-check resident number.

     We found out just how important it is to check, the day of the card delivery, to see if the number of people staying there has changed.  In our situation, not one nursing home still had the same number.  And it had only been a couple of weeks or so since Dad had talked to most of them.

     As fast as the number seems to change, I’m wondering if we shouldn’t leave a couple of extra cards at each home next year.  That way they will have some extras in case more people come before Christmas.  We could always tell the staff to keep the extras for their own Christmas cheer.  

     The time had come for actually dropping off the other 3 containers of Christmas cards.  At each nursing home, we stopped to say a prayer for the people before Dad dropped off the cards by the door.  It was such a special and meaningful time, looking at the windows, thinking about the people in each room who would each be receiving a Christmas card. 

     Something so simple as a Christmas card can have a big impact, and what a privilege it was to watch those cards go out.  We wore big smiles, felt our hearts thrill with joy, and may have even had misty eyes over this opportunity God had given us.

Lesson 4: Be prepared to be blessed!

     We had looked forward to the moment when the cards would be dropped off, but I’m not quite sure we were prepared to be as excited as we were.  It was our own special Christmas celebration, and we loved it.  

Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.  Luke 6:38

     If you decide to do a Christmas card project like this some time, you may receive as big a blessing as the people who get the cards.  It is fulfilling to be able to do something like that.  And if you are interested in including Bible verses in your cards, both Christmas and salvation themed, you can subscribe to the blog so that I can send you a password to the Freebies library.

     As a side note, God laid this Christmas card project on our hearts.  This may not be what He has called you to do right now, but there is something He has for you!  Seek His will and embrace the opportunity, no matter how small it may seem.  And don’t forget to enjoy the special little moments it brings you!

Merry Christmas!

In Christ,

Bethany