One Fish

Maybe it feels like you are in a state of wonder these days….

Wondering if the decisions you make today are the best for your family in these uncertain months

Wondering how you will make it through all that is before you in this day, week, month or year

Wondering how to be a supportive wife, mother, hold together your home, maybe work at another job, and maybe even teach children all in the same day

God sees you friend

He sees you when you're wondering and thinking how on Earth you can do it

And He has a story and some gifts just for you from Mark 6:35-42 on feeding the 5,000*

But first, some days, mamas, doesn't it feel like you go through enough food for 5,000? Here too where it feels like I'm food fixing all the time

But, hang on, there's God-food in this passage for you to savor, food you don't have to fix!

It goes a little like this:

Thousands were following Jesus. The disciples said to send them away so they could find food somewhere. But Jesus said, "You give them something to eat."

The disciples were like how on Earth can we do that? "That would take eight months of a man's wages."

Jesus said to find out what they had there. They brought back five loaves and two fish

Jesus had everyone sit and then gave thanks. He broke the bread and "they all ate and were satisfied and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls" of leftovers

You may have heard that story a thousand times or maybe not before, but I wonder if you can relate to the disciples like me

Because honestly, many times in this chaotic world today, it feels like I have even less than the disciples found that day. Only one fish, not even two, and I'm thinking things like they did

How can I possibly do that?

How can I sit and be thankful?

How can I….?

That will take forever to do (8 months work, right?)

But that is what it would take a mere man or mama on her own

You have to think like God and trust in the morsels he is feeding us in this story

GOD PROVIDES

GOD MULTIPLIES

GOD SATISFIES

God says...bring it (whatever you have that feels hard), sit and rest, and give thanks like Jesus. I want to provide for you, what you actually need in this day

Just come to me with what you have

I will provide. Multiply. Satisfy. And give leftovers

So bring it friends

Bring your fish to God. With Him, it will be more than enough

*If you care to see the mom morning that led me to this story and morsels the spirit fed me, keep reading:

It was a wild teary morning

My ten year old was angrily back in her room after an incident when her dad got after her for failing to really change the dogs' water buckets as she said she had

The two year old was up to craziness I can't even remember because it is so routine these days, and then the hysterical tears flowed after I didn't use gentle words with her as I should

The baby was tearily needing me, and I didn't know where the other two were which more than likely spelled trouble

So my tears flowed as I wondered…"how can I do this? All this crazy before the day really starts? Our family just feels like a major mess

And if I can't handle just this home and kid stuff now, how will I ever do what I need to when my maternity leave ends and I'm back to work and back to homeschooling them plus all this?"

Ugh. All those feels. All before 8 am one day

I wish I could say that I fell to my knees and reversed the crazy in a moment. That I pushed my words and thoughts aside, but I struggle to break that cycle when it takes grip in my mind

But God is good, faithful and full of grace, and he brought me two gifts that day

A quiet moment when I snuck away to change the baby's diaper upstairs

And a lesson to remember for the days ahead. The lesson described above