Smiling Faces On Every Christmas Child ~ Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Song

One of the first images of shoebox kids in my memory is from an Operation Christmas Child video from years ago (many, many years).  They put delightful (and not so delightful) images to the song below.  We made it an annual Christmas shoe box packing tradition to watch this video as a family at shoe box packing time.  But it is sooooo moving, that my daughters, now adults, agreed it was too depressing to watch each year.

Image courtesy OCC.

Even my husband gets teary eyed watching it.  My youngest daughter tells how she remembers if she was sitting next to Daddy while he watched this video he would
squeeze her tighter and tighter while it was on. He obviously was thankful his daughters were on the giving end of the shoe box.

I wish I could share the video here with you.  I cannot find it online at all.  I finally found this Youtube (see below) video of a church service with a gal singing the song so you can at least get an idea of it.

My Christmas Wish to you all:  May we enjoy the thoughts of the smiling faces on our Shoebox kids and work throughout the year to provide even more smiling faces next Christmas.

Merry Christmas to All and to All...

...Smiling Faces (author unknown to me)

Not a shoe box child,
but a Dress A Girl child.
Before her new dress.

Each and everyone has a story of their own.
A tale of disenchantment, of lost love or shattered home.
Each and everyone has a story that is real.
Some have lost their families and don't know how love feels.
One look into their eyes may prove all hope is dead.
Look again and see the joy a gift of love can spread.

And there is laughter,
where all happiness had died,
and where despair was, there are bright eyes open wide.
Smiling Faces
Smiling Faces
Smiling Faces on every Christmas Child.

The mystery of hope comes in the flicker of a smile.
And tragedies and heartache are forgotten for a while.
But a smile is a beginning that rebuilds an open heart.
To fix their eyes on heaven when life on earth is hard.
When loving hands reach out to show that someone really cares.

Smiling Faces!
A simple gift made all the difference.

It brings to life the joy that is alive in them somewhere.

And there is laughter,
where all happiness had died,
and where despair was, there are bright eyes open wide.
Smiling Faces
Smiling Faces
Smiling Faces on every Christmas Child

We pray this simple gift will make a difference in their lives.
That they might know the greatest gift, the precious love of Christ.

And there is laughter,
where all happiness had died,
and where despair was, there are bright eyes open wide.
Smiling Faces
Smiling Faces
Smiling Faces on every Christmas Child

I wrote a shoebox song as a play off of Wouldn't It Be Loverly (click link to see it).

You can read some stories right here on Simply Shoeboxes of Operation Christmas Child Shoebox Distributions.