08/29/2026
Yesterday morning I had a meeting with two of my favorite people, Bob and Harry. Harry has been helping me with Owie for decades, and Bob for the past five years. We were on Zoom when they asked me a simple question: “How is Owie going?” And without even thinking about it, I answered, “He’s always been going. I just couldn’t see it!”
And there it was. The truth about Owie that I probably should have understood decades ago. And it took a little boy named Sparrow to remind me of the one thing Owie was created to do: Come and find them.
God inspired my heart to create Owie because, like all of us, I knew what it felt like to have an Owie or two. I understood the uncertainty of life and the sadness that sometimes comes with it. And the older I became, I didn’t see less hurt in the world. I saw more of it. My own sorrows somehow taught me how to see the sorrows and heartaches of others.
Then last night I received another video from Sparrow’s grandmother. As I watched it, my heart heard those words again: Come and find them. And that’s when it hit me. That is what I have been trying to do through Owie all these years. I’ve been trying to find them.
Find the children who are sick, the parents and their family sitting beside hospital beds with broken hearts, the children who don’t have family there to watch over them, the child who has lost a parent, the parent who has lost a child, the family missing family and the friend missing a friend. Hurts happen every second of every day, and that’s what Owie does. He goes and finds them. And when he arrives, his message is very simple: I FOUND YOU! You don’t have to do this alone.
Someone thought of you. Someone cared about you. Someone wanted you to know that you are seen, you are loved, and you have not been forgotten.
Before each Owie leaves to find the person who needs him, I pray over him. I pray for the donor who gave him, the child who will receive him, the parent who needs to know that their child has not been forgotten, and the doctors, nurses and caregivers who will walk through that hospital-room door. And then I ask God to let that little stuffed dog carry something much bigger than himself into the room: His Presence.
Because I think I finally understand that Owie has always been my little secret weapon. He is how I can quietly carry the love of God into a room without attaching a Scripture or giving someone a life lecture. Just comfort. Because isn’t that so often what God does? He simply finds us.
He finds each of us in the silence of our sorrows, our hurts and our uncertainties. And sometimes He doesn’t have to say a word. He simply sits with us in the room where we are hurting, and somehow, even there, a little bit of happiness finds its way in.
That’s Owie. A moment of happiness. For the person who gives one, for the child who receives one, for the parent who sees their child smile, for the person delivering him, and for everyone who understands what that little dog is really saying: I found you. You are not alone.
Because one moment of happiness can change everything. I know, because the moment God put Owie on my heart all those years ago He changed me, and I have been giving that love away ever since.
Last night, as I watched the video of Sparrow’s mom standing outside his hospital room simply playing with Owie, God reminded me of the prayer I pray every day: “Lord, come and find them. Comfort them. Heal them. Let Your Presence be greater than their pain.”
Before each Owie gets delivered, I take him out of his bag and look him over to make sure he’s ready for his new home. I add a card with the donor’s (Arf Angel's) name, pray for that person, and then place Owie back inside his bag, so he's ready to go find the child who needs him. Then my sweet sister, Ann Strum who has had cancer twice herself, drives those little Owies where they need to go and lovingly delivers them with joy in her heart because she knows firsthand what a blessing it is to be given another day.
So yesterday, when Bob and Harry asked me how Owie was doing, I finally realized something. Owie has been doing exactly what he was created to do from the very first day he was stitched and stuffed. He’s been finding them. One child, one family, one hurt, one heart, .
I love that.
And now that you know the truth about Owie (who he is and what he does) maybe you’d like to help him find another child who needs a friend.
Right now Owie is visiting the Ronald McDonald Family Room in Ventura, where approximately 50 children each month need a little comfort and a moment of happiness. We are beginning to collect donations for October’s 50 Lil’ Owies. When October is filled, we’ll move on to November and then December.
And I especially love those months because they are the rememBER months. SeptemBER OctoBER. NovemBER. DecemBER. Months to rememBER that somewhere there is a child who needs to know someone remembered them.
So, come and find them with us. Because sometimes the greatest gift we can give someone who is hurting is simply the moment they realize...
I FOUND YOU.
If you’d like to help us deliver a Lil’ Owie, you can donate at iloveowie.org. But maybe helping doesn’t look like a donation for you. Maybe God has already given you an idea, a gift or a talent that could bring comfort to someone else, and you just don’t know what to do with it yet.
If that’s you, come and find me.
Because I’d hate to think there is a God-given gift sitting somewhere unused when there is someone out there waiting to receive it. Maybe together we can figure out where your gift needs to go and who it needs to find.
And please share this with everyone you know, because we never know who might be waiting to help Owie find his way into another hospital, another room, another family and another heart where comfort is waiting to arrive.
Until next time...
Onward by Faith we go!
Because we love you more!
Gina and Lil' Owie
Video shared with love by Sharon, Sparrow’s grandmother.
Owie BowWowie and Friends Foundation
We comfort hurts and hearts of hospitalized children .
iloveowie.org
