Some days, all I have left are remnants—bits and pieces of energy, joy, stamina, and purpose.
The multitude has been fed, the dirt cleaned, the work worked, and the preparations prepared. What is left is leftover at best. While good things can come from remnants, I am not creative with my leftovers, so my remnant days find me spread thin as I attempt to meet the needs around me.
On those days, I remember Jesus feeding the five thousand-plus people on the banks of the Galilee. He began with the meager offering of a young boy. He blessed the loaves and fishes and had enough to complete the task of feeding the multitude. People sat back, rubbed their tummies, and thought, “Mmmm.” The disciples thought the work was done. They had given out all they had.
Jesus never stops at our limits, however, because He is limitless. When everyone was settled and full, He spoke again to His disciples and told them to gather up anything left. What? Leftovers? Remnants? There couldn’t be anything left.
But there was. The disciples gathered twelve baskets of fragments, which I call remnants, from the crowd—twelve baskets when they started with just one lunchbox. They began the task with too little and ended up with all they needed and more.
Jesus provides and then continues to use the remnants. When I have used everything, He provides, sustains, and strengthens.
You may feel as if you are operating on leftovers, but Jesus can take your remnants and use them for blessing. They will be enough because He is enough.
Beth Mims is a wife, mother to two lovely young women, and doting nana of five grandchildren. She enjoys teaching and encouraging others with God’s Word. Beth believes in speaking grace. Since retiring from a full-time career in education, she has worked to grow her writing craft while spending lots of time with her family. She lives in Florida, where she battles the summer heat for her flowers. Beth is a member of Word Weavers International and has been published in A Time of Singing Poetry Journal. You can connect with her at www.gracespeak.blog/blog.