Who’s Outside the (Shoe)box?

Dannah Gresh: Hey, True Girl, I’m on the True Girl tour right now with Dove Award-winning worship leader Yancy—and we want you to come spend an evening with us!

The True Girl Crazy Hair Tour is coming to a city near you with worship, Bible teaching, tons of fun, and one unforgettable night with your mom.

And moms—there’s something for you, too! In each city I’m hosting a Raising Pure Kids lunch workshop to provide some practical, biblical encouragement for parents. Go to MyTrueGirl.com and get your tickets today!

Claire Black: Welcome to True Girl, a podcast for girls and their moms. I’m Claire Black! Together, we’ll explore God’s Truth for us one drive at a time. And though it may be too soon . . . we’re jumping into a Christmas sleigh!

[“Jingle Bells” song]

What do you think? Is it a bit too soon for “Jingle Bells”? Or is your family already pulling out the Christmas lights? Okay, I don't think I've ever seen a family put up a tree in October! But, maybe that is you. Anyway, do you put the tree up before or after Thanksgiving? My family never puts the tree up before Thanksgiving. It's kind of like our rule. 

So, let me explain why we’re pulling out the Christmas music early here on the True Girl podcast. Dannah Gresh and Suzy Weibel are in Boone, North Carolina, volunteering at a Samaritan’s Purse Operation Christmas Child Processing Center. Every year in homes like yours, millions of gift-filled shoeboxes are filled and then sent to one of eight Operation Christmas Child Processing Centers in the United States.

Each shoebox has to be inspected that it's packed correctly. That's what Dannah and Suzy are helping with here in Boone. They are getting ready to send toys, school supplies, personal care items, and the good news of Jesus Christ to be sent to children around the world.

For the next few weeks, we're going to tell the story of a very special box. This season is based on a true story. But it really happened a while ago. And we have the permission of Operation Christmas Child to tell it and to change a few details.  

To celebrate their hard work with the shoeboxes, Dannah and Suzy have some big plans tomorrow morning. But first, they are finishing their day at the processing center.

Here’s Dannah!

[voices, rolling carts, boxes sliding, tape ripping]

Dannah: Suzy, I do declare, I think this might be the most organized taping operation in all of America. 

Suzy: It's impressive, isn't it?!

[tape rip]

Dannah: I’ve been packing Operation Christmas Child Shoeboxes for more than thirty years, I guess, and, well, I had no idea what happened to these shoeboxes after we dropped them off at church! 

Suzy Weibel: Yup! They all come here! 

Every box gets opened, inspected, taped up, prayed over —and then sent on its way around the world.

Dannah: These volunteers are pretty impressive. 

Suzy: Well, I didn’t want to say it, but I am crushing it.

Seriously, I just successfully processed a Squishy Axolotl! I feel like I’ve found my calling.

[tape rip]

Oh, Dannah, look. look at this one! It’s a True Girl subscription box.

Dannah: I love it! Not surprising. Every year, hundreds of True Girl subscribers take the boxes we send their resources in and turn them into Operation Christmas Child shoeboxes. And here’s one of them, all the way here in Boone, getting ready to go to a girl somewhere in the world. What’s inside?

[box opening]

Suzy: Well, I do have to inspect it. Let’s see . . . She packed colorful pencils and a notebook, friendship bracelets, hair clips, a jump rope, a toothbrush and some deodorant, fuzzy socks, and this ridiculously cute stuffed lamb. And . . . a BIBLE! Whoa. Lord Jesus, please bless this box.” And Dannah, tucked right on top of the Bible is a note from the True Girl who packed it.

Somewhere in the world, a tween girl is going to open this box and know that another girl was thinking about her when she packed it. I love that.

Dannah: And the True Girl who packed it may not know that child’s name, but God does.

[alarm]

Suzy: Well, I guess that was the last box I’ll be inspecting! 

[backing sound of a moving vehicle]

Dannah: There go the last few palettes of shoeboxes! Wow, everyone’s clearing out fast!

Suzy: Which means our shift is officially over, and tomorrow . . . WE FISH!

Dannah: You have been talking about this all day.

Suzy: Because I am prepared—waders, fishing vest, extremely professional fishing hat.

Dannah: Do you actually know how to fly fish?

Suzy: I own the hat.

Dannah: That was not my question.

Suzy: I also watched a video. And, I’ve named my first trout Earl (Earlene if it’s a girl). Our relationship will be brief, but significant. I plan to catch and release!

Dannah: I’m beginning to think I should have packed a fifth pair of shoes for rescuing you from the river.

Suzy: You already brought four pairs for a two-day trip!

Dannah: Different shoes have different jobs. 

[background quiets]

And just like that, everyone’s gone!

Come on, let’s get dinner. Linda said we could just let ourselves out this way. I’m taking you to the Daniel Boone Inn for some fried chicken and biscuits!

Suzy: I’m in.

Ya know, after handling shoeboxes all day, the only box I want to see tomorrow is a tackle box.

Dannah: Wait! Oh no! Suzy, look.

Suzy: Is that another shoebox? It got left behind. We better put it somewhere safe and someone can take care of it tomorrow.

Dannah: Someone else?

Suzy: Yes. A wonderful, responsible someone else who has not already formed an emotional attachment to a trout named Earl.

Dannah: Hmm.

Suzy: No. I know that “hmm.” That’s your “God may be teaching us something and Suzy is about to lose her fishing trip” hmm.

Dannah: Well, I mean, look. It’s got a Post-it note on it. It says: Romania. And there’s a name: Izabella. 

Suzy: Izabella!? And it seems to indicate she’s 13 years old. See that.

Dannah: I do!

Suzy: You know, that does make it feel different. A minute ago, I was looking at a box somebody forgot. Now I’m picturing an actual girl waiting for it somewhere in Romania.

Well . . . uhm . . . I guess . . . 

Dannah: You know, God’s bringing a Bible passage to my mind. Maybe it’ll help us think about this box a little differently. Let me grab my phone and look up Matthew 25.

In these verses Jesus was talking to His disciples about the day He will come back as King. He told them that on that day, He’ll separate those who truly belong to Him from those who don’t. And one of the surprising things He showed them was . . . well, read this: Matthew 25:34–40.

Suzy: Okay.

“For I was hungry, and you fed me.”

(That fried chicken is sounding pretty good right now.)

Dannah: Just keep reading.

Suzy:

“I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.”

Then these righteous ones will reply, “Lord, when did we ever see you hungry and feed you? Or thirsty and give you something to drink? Or a stranger and show you hospitality? Or naked and give you clothing? When did we ever see you sick or in prison and visit you?”

And the King will say, “I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me.”

Ah, I think I see why God brought that to your mind. 

Dannah: Jesus cares deeply about how we treat others. 

Suzy: Seems He takes our service personally, too. He says, “When you did it for them, you were doing it for Me.”

Dannah: And look at the things He mentions: 

• Feeding someone. 
• Giving them a drink. 
• Welcoming them. 
• Providing clothing. 
• Caring for someone who is sick. 

These aren’t flashy, impressive acts.

Suzy: They’re actually pretty ordinary, but maybe that’s the point. Serving Jesus doesn’t always look like doing something preplanned and enormously noticeable. Sometimes it’s simply seeing a need and choosing to meet it.

Dannah: And that word “seeing” is important. A few minutes ago, we saw one more shoebox in a building filled with shoeboxes. But then, we saw a name.

Suzy: Izabella. Suddenly, it wasn’t just something that had been left behind. There was a 13-year-old girl on the other side of it.

Dannah: Sometimes ya gotta think outside the (shoe)box, Suze!

Suzy: I see what you did there. Yeah, I get it. We’ve been so busy checking the inside of the boxes today, it’s been easy to forget WHO is on the outside of each of those boxes.

That reminds me of the story of the Good Samaritan in Luke 10. There was a man who had been attacked by robbers and left badly injured beside the road. Several people came along and saw him, but they kept going.

Then the Samaritan came along. He saw the same man, but instead of passing by, he stopped. He cared for his wounds, took him somewhere safe, and paid for his care.

And I think there’s something we can easily skip over in that story: the Samaritan had some place to be. He was going somewhere when he found that man.

Dannah: Which means stopping cost him something—his time, his money, his comfort, and whatever plans he had for the rest of his day.

Suzy: It was an interruption! 

Dannah: Exactly. Serving Jesus sometimes interrupts our plans.

Suzy: There goes the fishing trip.

Dannah: Yes, ‘fraid so.

Suzy: You know, this shoebox makes the choice pretty obvious. There’s a girl’s name right in front of us. I think God’s making it really clear. I mean, most opportunities to serve Jesus through other people’s needs probably won’t come in a box marked Izabella.

So, what are we actually going to do with her box?

Dannah: I have Linda’s phone number. Let me check.

Linda: Hi, this is Linda.

Dannah: Linda, you won’t believe what’s happened! There’s a box that’s been left behind. It has a Post-it note on it.

Linda: Izabella?! Is it marked for Romania? [Woman continues to talk under Suzy as Suzy talks to herself.]

Suzy: [to herself] Please tell us there’s another truck we can put it on, and we’ll be off for those Southern biscuits. I wonder if they have gravy.

Linda: Are there any trucks there?

Dannah: I think I saw the last truck leave.

Linda: It’s simply got to get there.

Dannah: So, it is a special box! Okay, Linda. Don’t worry. Let me see what we can do. Bye!

Suzy . . . this is a special box, and we have to figure out how to get it to Izabella. 

Suzy: And now you have the I-have-an-idea face.

Dannah: How attached are you to fly fishing tomorrow?

Suzy: I can pivot. My waders may be disappointed! 

Dannah: Don’t worry. You can wear your hat. Where's my phone . . . ?

Suzy: Now, what are you doing?

Dannah: Booking two flights to Romania.

Suzy: Romania?! Wait. TWO flights?!

Dannah: Grab the box. You have your passport?

Suzy: I’m sorry Earl the trout. We’ve been interrupted.

Claire: Well, Earl's going to have to wait! It looks like Dannah and Suzy will be catching a plane instead of a trout!

True Girl, how do you feel about interruptions? Like:

• You’re in the middle of a good book when your mom asks for help.
• You finally get comfortable when your little sister needs something.
• Or you’re building the greatest blanket fort ever when Dad says, “Time to clean your room!”

Nobody likes an interruption. But sometimes that is actually what God uses to provide an opportunity to love someone and serve Jesus. That's what Dannah and Suzy discover today.

I hope you’ll look at interruptions to your plans as an invitation to serve others.

And you know what? Opportunities to serve usually don’t come with a big announcement. They show up right in the middle of normal life.

• Your little brother needs help right in the middle of a visit with your friend.
• Your mom needs help unloading the dishwasher when you’re working on a craft. 
• A girl at school is sitting alone and you really don’t want to leave your friends to go sit with her. 

That’s when you have a choice: do I keep doing what I want to do, or do I stop and notice the person God put right in front of me?

Philippians 2 tells us to care about the interests of others, not just our own. So here’s a question I want you to think about: Am I willing to be interrupted so I can serve someone else?

And the next time somebody’s need interrupts your plans, don’t be so quick to get annoyed. Stop and ask, “Could this be an opportunity to serve—not just this person, but also Jesus?”

If you've struggled to serve cheerfully, the next True Girl Subscription Box might help! It’s the No-Grumble November Box, built around Philippians 2:14–15. Those verses read: 

Do everything without complaining and arguing, so that no one can criticize you. Live clean, innocent lives as children of God, shining like bright lights in a world full of crooked and perverse people. 

You and your mom will discover how to trade grumbling for gratitude—even when things don’t go according to your plans. Subscribe to the True Girl Subscription box today and we’ll be sure to have it to your door in time for your daily devos to start November 1. Your mom can check it out at MyTrueGirl.com.

If you’re already a subscriber, we challenge you to also use one of your boxes to pack an Operation Christmas Shoebox. But you don’t have to be a subscriber to participate in that. You just need a shoebox. 

Every box is headed to a real child with a real story. So as you pack, remember to think outside the shoebox and pray for the child who will receive yours. To learn more about packing a shoebox for Operation Christmas Child visit SamaritansPurse.org/occ. National Collection week in 2026 runs from November 16–23, with the goal of reaching 12.8 million children globally with the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ. Again that’s SamaritansPurse.org/occ.

Get ready for an international trip next week! We'll follow Dannah and Suzy on the plane. Tune in for that!

The True Girl podcast is a production of Revive Our Hearts, calling women of all ages to freedom, fullness and fruitfulness in Christ.

All Scripture is taken from the NLT.

*Offers available only during the broadcast of the podcast season.