By Ashley Peterson
When I was young, I remember my growing excitement when our local grocery store would break out the orange Halloween shopping bags. The return of these auburn plastic bags meant my favorite holiday was a mere few weeks away.
After the harvest season and Christmas decorations were packed away, there was always another holiday that seemed, in my mind, to be extra special for the local store: Easter. Easter brought— you guessed it— purple bags! They had this beautiful, soft hue that just whispered 'spring is finally here'! Such a simple thing, yet it brought me so much joy and excitement. Oh, to be young again…
Now let’s be honest: did you feel any bit of reminiscent excitement while reading just now? Even if your memories were not of plastic grocery bags, do you remember simple pleasures bringing such contentment to your heart and putting a smile upon your face?
Fast forward to present day. Last year, we asked you to bring in plastic bags— you know the ones I’m talking about. Maybe yours get stuffed into cloth tubes that hang behind a door or perhaps you use a bag to put bags into until not another one could POSSIBLY fit.
The fate of Sarah Cynthia Sylvia Stout just popped into my mind. Okay, so maybe Miss Stout’s story is a bit of a stretch, but I digress (though you may know what it feels like to have one too many plastic bags…). My point is: we asked, you answered, and boy did you answer! Bags galore came through our church doors, and if there ever was a doubt as to "Will there
be a response?", it was taken out with the trash, and not in plastic grocery bags! Bags of all shapes, sizes, and COLORS came in to our collection bin. I think it’s safe to say we were overjoyed and giddy with excitement over how quickly the collection grew. Seeing the rare and sometimes seasonal colors brought me back to being little and full of anticipation as I started thinking and praying for those whose lives would be touched by these bags once they were turned in to sleeping mats.
Unfortunately, our mission had to be placed on hold due to matters larger than us— but not larger than God. We’ve started meeting again and I hope you prayerfully consider coming out to experience the joy that has come alive within our church. You can join us at our upcoming 'Plastics with a Purpose' Monday meetings on August 23, September 13, and September 27 at 6:30pm. You can sign up here!
Stay safe and healthy my friends, until we meet again!
Blessings,
Ashley
Ashley Peterson is a wife and mom, a lover of the beach and warm sunny weather. She enjoys spending time with family and friends, listening to music, line dancing— how she met her husband— and crafting. She would love to become SCUBA certified and someday go shark cage diving.