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From LifeDate - Summer 2005
In Search of the Perfect
Donor
by Karen Frohwein, Director of Development, Lutherans For Life
Just once, don’t you wish things could just be
“perfect”? Have you ever searched for the perfect car, or the
perfect house, or the perfect mate, or wanted the perfect child?
Well, I have good news for all of you who
receive LifeDate by mail. You are members of DonorPerfect!
In order to be on our mailing list, your name is entered into a
database named DonorPerfect. When you give a gift to
Lutherans For Life, that gift is added to DonorPerfect. When
you purchase materials (you guessed it) you become a member of
DonorPerfect.
One of my tasks is to enter those names and
gifts into the database at the Life Center. It’s more than a data
entry task resulting in a set of records. I have gotten to know our
members better as I process your notes and gifts and I have seen the
hand of God at work in the lives of many of you.
Many of our donors apologize for not being
able to give more often, or not being able to give a larger amount,
and yet I find them to be some of our most consistent supporters.
Recently a donor apologized for his handwriting. At 92 years old, he
was giving to support the mission of LFL. God’s love (along with a
lot of living) was in that handwriting!
In 2001, two boys, then ages seven and five,
asked their mom what they could do to support Lutherans For Life.
Since that time, they have faithfully sent in a monthly sponsor
pledge of $2.00. Their gift is one of my favorite entries each month
in DonorPerfect.
Last fall, wedding invitations sent to friends
and family of two Lutherans For Life supporters included a card
titled Registering with the Redeemer. That card acknowledged that
since God had already richly blessed the bride and groom’s lives, in
honor of their marriage and in thanksgiving to their Lord for His
many blessings, guests could make donations to four Lutheran
ministries, including LFL, in lieu of wedding gifts. What a joy it
was to enter those gifts and to pray for that DonorPerfect couple!
Sometimes people do not have the ability to
give gifts, yet they remain members of the DonorPerfect club.
Some people don’t have monetary gifts to give, but they give of
their time and talents, and many of our best “donors” give their
prayers to God each month asking for blessings on the work of
Lutherans For Life. Being a perfect donor isn’t really about the
type of gift, you see. It’s about the giver’s heart.
So, is there a “perfect” donor? That’s the
GOOD NEWS! Just as all of your gifts are filtered through a computer
system called DonorPerfect, they are also filtered through
the true Donor Perfect—the One who donated His life for us on the
Cross. We can all strive for perfection, but we will never find it.
And yet, all of you who support the work of LFL are perfect! Don’t
despair when you can’t give, or you wish you could give more. No
matter how you choose to support Lutherans For Life, if that choice
comes through gratitude for Christ’s gift to you, your gift is
perfect! We thank you for your gifts,
and more importantly, we join with you in thanking our Heavenly
Father for His perfect gift—given for eternal LIFE!
There are many ways you
can support Lutherans For Life. Click
here
to learn more. |
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