"We each have time, talent and creativity, all of which can be powerful
forces for positive change. Share your blessings in whatever form they
come and to whatever level you have been blessed." Jon M. Huntsman Sr.
So, I'm pretty sure most everyone has heard the story of Jesus feeding the multitude, right? Well, just for the sake of clarity, let me run over it for you. Jesus has been talking to and healing this large group of people, and it's getting late. The disciples suggest that He send them away to buy food, but Jesus tells the disciples that the people don't need to leave. But all they have are five loaves and two fishes. Jesus took the food, gave thanks, broke the bread, and gave it to the disciples to give to the people. As I'm sure you know, the food never runs out. All of the people gathered eat what they want, and there's still some left over.
Now, you might be wondering what prompted me to tell you that story. Well, it goes like this...
I started crocheting a while back (a big thank you to my friends who taught me), and at the end of last year, I really felt like God wanted me to start doing something with my talent. So I started thinking and praying about it, and finally I figured out something that would work.
There is an organization called Gospel for Asia that works to bring the Gospel to people in isolated villages and towns of Asia. One of the things they do is a "Jesus Well". Basically, you fund the building of a well that provides clean water to anyone in the village- regardless of their social standing. (To read more about Jesus Wells, CLICK HERE.) To raise money for the Jesus Well I wanted to fund, I decided to start selling crochet hats. Hats are something I enjoy making, that I can sell fairly cheaply, and that lots of people enjoy. It was a perfect set-up!
But then, I hit a bit of a bump in the road. What was I to do next? I entered a craft fair thingy and set up a table there, which did help get the word out a bit. But other than a few close friends, I never really told anyone about my fundraiser. I mean, how do you go about bringing something like that up??? Then I thought, well, maybe I could put something up about it at church. I'm sure they'd love to get involved!
So, on at least three separate occasions, I started to bring it up. But guess what? I couldn't do it. I was scared. About that time, our church started getting more involved in missions in Honduras, and (also about that time) one of the young women at our church announced that she would be going there for a whole year. How could I possibly ask people to give money to this Jesus Well, when someone else had something bigger. Something that seemed so much more important.
So I just let it go. I didn't say anything, and I kept it to myself.
Just the other day, I started thinking about it more. I contemplated (again) bringing it up at church. But then that little voice at the back of my head started talking to me again. It said things like, "That's not as important as what they're doing." "It would be selfish to ask for money for this when they need it more." "Your dream is too small. It's not important." And I started to file my idea away again, when suddenly it hit me.
If God is calling you to do something, no matter how "unimportant" it might seem, it's not unimportant. No matter how "small" it might seem next to someone else's calling, it's not small. It's what God gave you.
Sometimes God gives you fish. Don't compare your fish with someone else's bread- you might convince yourself your fish aren't needed anymore. So when all you have is fishes, give them over to God. He can do things with your fish that you never could have dreamed of on your own...
