COMPASSION

Kids Blessing Kids: A Back To School Story

By Michelle Wilson
The 700 Club

"When I saw the kids on TV, I was sad because they didn’t have any clothes," says Lydia, who had been watching The 700 Club with her mother, Kerrie.

Lydia was intrigued by Operation Blessing's Back-to-School program, a ministry that helps school children get clothes and school supplies.

"I just watched her face through the whole thing," Kerrie recalls. "All of a sudden she looked up and she began really being mesmerized by what was going on. A smile came across her face, and she took off into the kitchen where she keeps her savings jar and grabbed it and she ran out here."

Lydia poured the money out on the table. "I wanted to help them get the clothes and the stuff that they needed," she says.

Kerrie recalls her young daughter asking her, "Is this enough to give to all those children?" Astounded by her daughter's generous heart, Kerrie says she "instantly praised the Lord and said, 'Thank you, God!'"

In that moment, Lydia discovered something that many adults never see—that caring for the poor means giving to God.

"Lydia didn’t give a tenth. She didn’t give half of it. She gave all that she had," says Kerrie. "As if that weren't enough, then she looked at me and said, 'What are you going to give?'"

Dudley and Kerrie Smith have been givers. That is something they learned from their parents.

"I saw my parents give to the Lord, and I saw them give to anyone who was around them," Kerrie says.

So Dudley and Kerrie decided to join The 700 Club together.

"The Lord uses children often to open up our eyes," states Dudley. "There is so much honesty and sincerity in a child’s voice and in what they say. Everything we have already belongs to God. When we come to understand that, it’s not a matter of what we are giving to Him, it’s what we are allowing Him to use that is already His. It’s just a step of obedience."

And because of that obedience, the Smiths have positioned themselves to continue to receive blessings from God—in ways we don’t often think about.

"My God shall supply all of my needs. When I look at that verse, it doesn’t just mean financially. It doesn’t mean just the material things. It means my spiritual condition, my emotional condition, everything I have to deal with," Dudley says.

As for Lydia, when she picks out her outfit for school, she has joy in knowing that God used her to help other children pick out a new outfit as well. And as for Kerrie and Dudley, they are just glad to be helping others through CBN, too.

"If it weren't for this ministry," says Kerrie, "I know I wouldn’t have received the blessing that I have with Lydia and the many blessings I’ve received every day and know that somebody’s life is being touched or that somebody’s coming to Christ and that I can have a part of that."

When you partner with CBN, a portion of every dollar makes programs like Back to School possible. Through CBN's outreach programs, you can provide needy children with adequate food, shoes and clothing, after-school mentoring and school supplies. Most importantly, you can introduce them to a loving relationship with Jesus Christ.

Join with us today and help change the future for so many young lives. If you're already a partner with us, please give a special gift . You can make a difference in a young life today.