“Five loaves and two fish Lord, five loaves and two Fish.” That was the prayer I repeated all day long as I finished up our Christmas shopping earlier this week. While driving and before entering each store I prayed “Five loaves and two fish Lord!” This prayer is from the miraculous story of Jesus feeding 5,000 men plus their families (probably a total of 10,000-15,000 people total) with just a little boy’s lunch of 5 loaves of bread and 2 pieces of fish. Everyone ate until they were full and there was 12 baskets of leftovers! Read it yourself. This story was recorded in all four Gospels Matthew 14:13-21, Mark 6: 30-44, Luke 9:10-17, John 6: 1-15.
My husband and I made two commitments this Christmas: 1) Be radical givers 2) Have a debt-free Christmas. These choices would result in less gifts under our tree but more gifts under someone elses tree (that is if they even had a tree.) We sent goats, chickens, and soccer balls to our children we sponsor in Africa and Mexico. Our family also supported families locally from the angel tree. I must admit, I hesitated, when we were emailed about an opportunity to give to a missionary friend in Uganda. Our family had some unexpected bills and giving would almost deplete the rest of our Christmas money. My hesitation was a lack of trust. This was a test of faith. Was I really willing to trust God?Was I really willing to give radically? Yes, the answer was yes! Now you can understand why I was surrendering my wallet and asking for a five loaves and 2 fish miracle. God did not disappoint. In fact, I think God rather liked the challenge. I wonder if he sat on this throne and thought “now this is a girl with faith, April watch this!” It was amazing the items I was able to purchase. It was awesome to see the way God was able to stretch the limited funds, in only ways He could. I had some very specific, and random items to purchase. With each purchase, I began to laugh! Only God! He exceeded each need, everything, I mean everything was there, the exact size, shape color and it on a HUGE sale. Only God! Last night I made our final purchase. With only $2 and change left of the Christmas money. I placed the money in a donation box for hurricane Sandy victims. It wasn’t much, but just like the little boy, I gave all I had. ~April “May you and I be mutually encouraged by each other’s faith.” Romans 1:12
Comments