Enough

Last week I had some silver to polish. I do it once a month for a particularly wonderful client. She has beautiful silver things, and I do love seeing them brightening up the house with their newly polished shine each time I  finish with them. On the way to her house, I racked my brain, unable to remember whether I was supposed to bring a new jar of  polish or not. I was running just on time that day and didn't really want to stop at the store and ruin the flow of the schedule. However, for that very reason, I surely wouldn't have time to go back out and get the polish if I arrived and found that there wasn't any. I was almost certain I didn't remember throwing away an empty container last time, so I took the chance and went on to the house.

When I got there, I grabbed the jar from under the sink and unscrewed the lid to find a nearly empty jar. The bottom was wiped clean, revealing the smooth, white plastic beneath. Only a modest amount of silver polish remained, pushed into the bottom of the jar around the edges. Hmmm....after I gathered all the silver and set it all by the sink, I studied the contents of this jar.

"Please, Lord," I asked out loud, "make this enough!" And I felt in my heart that He agreed.

As I wet the sponge and picked up the first piece of silver, I was mindful of what I had to work with. On the smaller pieces, I only took what small amount I needed from the container, surprised at how little each beautiful object required. By the time I picked up the last big bowl, I had plenty left to smear on a glob of silver cream just large enough to polish the entire surface to a nice, clean shine. In the end, there was enough, and I finished with an empty jar.

I would have never believed there had been enough in that jar to polish all those lovely items! Setting each one back in its place, I marvelled at the fact that my concept of "enough" had been so wrong. When I began to think about the rest of my life in that way, the possibilities were clearly endless!!

In Matthew 14:15-16, we learn that the disciples came to Jesus 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 food for themselves.”

But Jesus said, “That isn’t necessary—you feed them.”'

It never occurred that they had anything close to enough for meeting the need before them. There were thousands of people there! Surely, this would require a miracle! So they answered by saying, "“But we have only five loaves of bread and two fish!” (Matthew 14:17). They didn't think they had enough. Their concept of "enough" was wrong.

Jesus required them only to bring what they had, and He transformed a meager five loaves of bread and two little fish into overflowing abundance for the multitudes. (Matthew 14:18-20)

How many times have you thought "I don't have enough to make a difference?" To what were you referring? Money? Patience? Experience? Resources? Here is what God has been teaching me: no matter what you think you have or don't have, Jesus can make it more than enough. All He asks is that you bring what you do have and offer it to Him. Lately, every time I ask Him to bless someone, can you guess how He answers me? That's right. "YOU bless them." So today, I dare you to take that dollar and see what He does with it. Take your limited experience and throw it into that Christmas play. Take that one free day a month and watch how He uses that time to bless someone. You will be shocked at how wrong your concept of "enough" has been.

Father, thank You that, in You, I always have more than enough. Thank You for taking such good care of me. Thank You for teaching me even in the smallest of tasks. Open my eyes to see the endless possibilities Your kind of "enough" holds for my life and the lives of everyone I touch in Your name.

In His surprising love,
Amy

copyright 2010, Amy Wallace