Several years ago I was preparing for gall bladder surgery. I wasn’t particularly anxious about the surgery mainly, but I certainly wasn’t looking forward to it.

One of the ladies in our congregation brought me a little gift the night before my surgery. When I opened the package I found a white stuffed bear. I was a little surprised to receive a stuffed animal, but I appreciated her thoughtfulness.

I tucked the bear back into the package and waited until I arrive home to really look at it. The message touched my heart, and it gave me a great deal of comfort as I faced surgery.

This was no ordinary stuffed animal. Attached to the bear was a piece of cloth, and tied around the arm of the bear was a tag with a message typed on the inside.

“I’m not a very fancy bear,

I’m plain and rather small.

Even so, someone who likes you

Said I should come to call.

 

Hide me underneath your pillow

Or set me on a nearby shelf.

And when you feel discouraged,

I will do my best to help.

 

I brought my favorite blanket

That I snuggle when I’m sad.

It’s a present from my granny,

Made for days when things seem bad.

 

My granny always told me,

“Life is like this patchwork quilt.

Just give Jesus all the pieces,

And He’ll make a pretty quilt.”

 

Sometimes I don’t see the pattern.

Sometimes He seems far away.

Then I clutch my favorite blanket,

And I pray, and pray, and pray.

 

Though I don’t have all the answers

(I’m just a “Burden Bear”)

I’ve been sent here on a mission,

From someone who really cares.

 

When you see me please remember,

YOU are in our thoughts and prayers.”

 

I admit I shed a few tears over that little poem and the thoughtfulness of a friend that wanted to encourage me.

Every time I looked at that little bear, I wondered how I could use that idea. Of course, I could just duplicate it; but I wanted it to have a special meaning to others as it had to me.

The solution to my problem was to make it available to as many people as I could, especially those with serious illnesses. So, I went on a search for the bears. Finding them was not a problem; but finding them at a reasonable price, in quantity, was a problem. Since I was on a mission, I look everywhere for bears. I found them in some very unlikely places, but I found enough to do what I wanted to do.

Next I found an old quilt made by my grandmother. It wasn’t useable any longer, but I cut it into large squares to make the blankets to attach to the bears. The tags were easy.

I gathered all the materials together, along with gift bags and tissue for stuffing the bags; and I took them to my Bible class. Every child had a bear with a blanket attached, a gift bag, and tissue paper. We passed the gift tags around for everyone to sign them. We attached the tags with ribbon and then wrapped the gifts.

I explained to the children how important it is to encourage others. I wanted them to understand how much we all need to know someone cares about us and is praying for us.

With that in mind, we began to think about people in our congregation who needed encouragement. Then we invited each of those people to come to our class where one of the boys would lead a prayer for that person, and we would present them with one of the bears.

The bears have gone to many people over the years. They have gone to hospitals, nursing homes, rehab centers, homes of shut-ins. They have gone into surgery, to doctors’ offices, with people having chemo, and just into bedrooms to sit on a shelf.

We have received many cards of appreciation, but our greatest joy is in knowing that someone was encouraged by what we did.

As we celebrate Thanksgiving this weekend, I am thankful for every person who received a bear, for every child that participated in this project, and I am most thankful for my precious friend who cared enough to encourage me with a white stuffed animal.

Sandra Oliver