"The" Coat Drive+

Honestly, I don't even know where to begin when trying to put into words the way the Coat Drive+ has impacted me.  Our church started a small group ministry called "Homes of Hope".  Over the summer, Scott and I prayed about being a host/lead home.  We thought originally we were going to be teaming with another couple but that didn't quite work out.  So, in September we just plunged in to the unknown.  Now, don't get me wrong, we have been apart of small groups and even leading, but it they have always been with friends and we knew them very well.  Everyone who was invited to be a part of our group were totally new "friends" to us.  The study was "Better Together: 40 Days of Community" by Rick Warren.  Scott and I had different opinions about the study and then of course Sundays were always stressful as we prepared the lesson and our home for the study.  The one major premise of the study stressed the importance of Christians needing to be active in "community" both within the local church, the community, and just even in daily life.  Our group was tasked with planning a community service project that would demonstrate unconditional love for people.  When we started I was hoping for something small and easy...like volunteering a few hours at a food pantry, or just helping in the school.  One night one of the other moms suggested a community coat drive.  Hmmmm?  The group liked the idea.  Hmmmm?  WHAT?  I didn't know what that looked like or where to even start.  Might sound silly to some of you, but it's the honest truth.  So another mom and I began to just plot out a plan.  We got some boxes together, asked the principals/secretaries at the schools, called the library, and secured some drop off locations.  Many of you are aware of our Facebook postings for help.and responded with so much love and support.  We called the newspaper and they ran an ad for Free.  We found the name and number of a local seamstress.  She not only fixed zippers at the cost of buying a zipper (if she didn't have one in her collection), she was creative in fixing tears, etc.  The dry cleaners were going to charge us $5.00 but when my friend showed up to pick up the coats, the owner decided to do it for FREE!  The VFW boys were willing and ready to let us use their ballroom (:)).  The local print shop advertised around town.  The librarians were so very supportive and excited about our project.  Our church even purchased professionally designed signs for us.  We had over 100 coats donated (some brand spankin' new), 50+ gloves/mittens, 40+ hats, 20+ scarves, and miscellaneous items.  So....the big day to allow the public to come get coats was finally upon us.  Cookies were made, the coats were laid out, the signs were set out, the hot cocoa was ready, the River was playing, and the prayers had been said.  Unfortunately, it was so warm on Saturday I think people forgot they might need a winter coat.  Only 3 families showed up to actually get coats and 1 elderly man showed up for the cookies.  As you can imagine we were very disappointed.  However, our associate pastor came to support us and reminded us it doesn't matter who shows up or how many show up, it is that we obeyed.  Our world is so focused and based on performance...but that isn't how God works.  He is more interested in our obedience than the acutal performance.  What an amazing truth!?!  Even in writing this, I cannot fully explain or describe the signifcance the Coat Drive+ has played in my recent spiritual growth.  Just ask me about it if you really want to know the rest of the story....