Listen

They replied, “We have nothing here except five loaves of bread and two fish.”

He said, “Bring them here to me.” He ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. He took the five loaves of bread and the two fish, looked up to heaven, blessed them and broke the loaves apart and gave them to his disciples. Then the disciples gave them to the crowds.

Matthew 14:17-19

Think

My calculus teacher used to tell his classes one thing over and over: Do not let what you do not know interfere with what you do know. We would look at the calculus problems and feel overwhelmed. Instead of giving up, he wanted us to remember what we knew, to approach the problems one step at a time.

Another way to put this saying is: Do not let what you cannot do interfere with what you can do. The disciples tell Jesus, “We have NOTHING here except five loaves and two fish.” We have nothing! They don’t have much, but they do have something. Jesus uses what they have and sends them to feed the crowd.

We can’t meet every need. We CAN listen to someone who’s having a bad day. We CAN volunteer at the food bank or the humane shelter or the after-school program. We can’t do everything. We CAN do something.

Don’t discount who you are. God cares for you and provides ways for you to care for others.

Laura Edgar

Question to Ponder:

What is our “except”? We have nothing except…

Pray

Empowering God, sometimes I feel like I don’t have anything to offer.

Thank you for caring for me and for creating me to be who I am.

Open my heart to what I can do to care for others.

Amen.

Go

Each of us and all of us are held in God’s abundant mercy and constant care.