Another lunch box…..ok, so find the lunch box, making sure it is clean and nothing was spilled in it, or worse when the lunch box doesn’t get unpacked over the weekend and UGHHHH!! It smells so bad….and starting Monday morning with this smell is just the way I hoped to start the week…..  Once again, telling myself to make sure to take care of these things the night before…. but it’s 10 minutes until everyone has to be out the door, so the hustle is on, clean the lunch box, pack it, not forgetting the water bottle and snack too, these things wear me out.

I am thankful we have food to put in our children’s lunch box, and I am thankful for the lunch box, but it is not my favorite thing to do, and with four kids (with completely different tastes) I have had to train myself to have a joyful heart while making lunch boxes. I have made a lot of lunches over the last 18 years. Sometimes I am joyful…sometimes I question why do I have to pack anotherrrr lunch box? Did I mention, it is not my favorite thing to do?

I was sitting at my kitchen table yesterday and read the story of Jesus feeding the 5,000.  I have to say I have heard this story many times, in Sunday School as a little kid, in church sermons, in Bible studies, when people talk about miracles this story is a popular one that gets discussed.

But yesterday was different!!!!!!  I was sitting there reading the part where Jesus has asked the disciples to find food for 5000 people and they are talking about how impossible this task is… but then Andrew says, “There is a youngster here with 5 barley loaves and a couple of fish! But what good is that with all this mob?” John 6:8-9NLT (oh, we do not see beyond ourselves)

 

Then Jesus

Then Jesus tells everyone to sit down, he takes the loaves, gives thanks to God and passes them out to everyone!  EVERYONE!  Then Jesus does the same with the fish and everyone ate until full!  Did you see that everyone ate until full, and….there were leftovers!!!! 12 baskets of leftovers!!!!! 5000 were mentioned, but in the times of the Bible writings this number was the men present, so there were women and children fed as well!  (John 6 for the whole story)

As my eyes were reading this Scripture, my heart began to be overwhelmed in thought.  Thinking of this little boy with his lunch…his little lunch box… a lunch perhaps his mom made, she prepared the bread, put his fish in and wow!  My thoughts went to what if she was so over making lunch boxes she threw in the towel and said, “not today, I don’t want to make this lunch I am so done with making lunches”??????

This simple lunch that was put together became a MIRACLE!!!!  The mom doing her job, a job that sometimes seems without importance, became a miracle that has been told of for generations!!! She obediently served in the place she was, she served the Lord and didn’t even know it was going to serve in this way. It is said so often the small things are what matters, like the little tasks of lunch box making.  I am just sharing where my mind went, it does not say in the Bible that the little boy’s mom packed his lunch before he left, but someone did, someone made the bread, someone caught and prepared the fish, someone made the basket/lunchbox.  All those little things became a MIRACLE!!! A MIRACLE!!!

 I have been trying to take notice of when my heart is not joyful about doing tasks that aren’t my favorite, or the things that seem monotonous, and ask God to give me a joy for making lunch boxes, or washing dishes, or picking up laundry.  He has helped my change my attitude, I try to say out loud thank you God for the food in my pantry, thank him that I have the ability to pack lunches, and I draw funny pictures on the sandwich bags to try to bless my kids with laughter and find joy in the task. Thankful hearts and servant hearts are so important and yet seem so hard to do at times. Jesus gave thanks, as he gave thanks, God gave a miracle.

It is so amazing to imagine how God can take a little job we have to do and turn it into amazing blessings for many.  I hope this inspires your heart the way my heart has been inspired to do my best.  Doing life with joy and thanks, because of all Jesus has done for me, knowing I am in God’s kingdom, and hoping the little tasks I do could bless someone, or shine God’s love, or maybe even be part of a miracle!

Here’s to making lunches for God’s glory :)…with a heart of joy and thanksgiving!