Hope in a basket

There is also a second benefit to an early Thanksgiving meal with our church family:  We can collect food to assist those in our community who are in need.  Each year, we partner with the Telegraph Center in Oakland to minister to the hungry in our community.  For the past few years, several of our members go to the Center the day before Thanksgiving to pass out food baskets.  We also are the only church who donates boxes of pie crusts to those baskets.  We can look at that and think, "It's only pie crust.  That really isn't a big deal."  So it would be easy to overlook making this type of donation.  But if you were the family receiving that basket, your view might be a little different.  Not only will you have the basics for a Thanksgiving meal, but will be able to have dessert.  Maybe you are not a dessert person, but that is my favorite food group.  I like to eat the food I am supposed to eat so I can indulge in a little dessert.  Dessert means we have more than enough to get by.  It brings a smile to make face and make my taste buds tingle.  For a struggling family, dessert can mean hope.

The Bible tells us in Romans 5 that we have hope because of Jesus.  He really is the only hope we have.  Romans 5:5 tells us that, "...hope does not disappoint us because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us".  God sends hope to every one of His followers, sometimes in big ways and at other times in much smaller ways.  A kind word from a stranger, an unexpected check, a hug when we are crying on the inside are all ways God gives us hope.  So hope does come in a basket to one family.  How has God given you hope?  Would you take a moment to thank Him for the hope He has put into your life.  If you are needing a little hope, how about calling another member of the "family" and asking them to pray for you.  That may be your little basket of hope today.  Or maybe you should call someone and pray for them, giving them some hope.  Hope that comes from God does not disappoint!

For more information about the Telegraph Center, contact the East Bay Baptist Association