God Always Provides

¹⁵As evening approached, the disciples came to him and said, “This is a remote place, and it’s already getting late. Send the crowds away, so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”
¹⁶ Jesus replied, “They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat.”
¹⁷ “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.
¹⁸ “Bring them here to me,” he said. ¹⁹ And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. ²⁰ They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. ²¹ The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.  Matthew 14:15-21

When I lived in Washington DC, on a Fourth of July weekend, I went to see a free concert and fireworks at the national mall. I had packed a veggie snack but nothing else since my friends and ‘classmates’ planned to have a potluck picnic together. Everyone else forgot! Other families and groups filled up available lawn spaces and unpacked their goodies. A family nearby overheard us and shared their meal, then another blanket of revelers nearby did the same. The Spirit was in this unlikely place with strangers at a secular holiday. What a gift it was to see this sharing and to be a part of it. It reminded me of the little boy who shared his meager lunch and how Jesus made it so his little was made into a surplus. Remember the leftovers! Thank God for all provision for it all comes from Him. 

In Christ,
Rev. Elyse Milligan Nielsen