"Gather what is left so that nothing is wasted." I woke from sleep upon hearing these words. Looking back on the experience, I am unclear whether they came from the words of a preacher on the Bott Radio Network that I have turned on softly all night or from Someone else, for my ears only.
I didn't fall back to sleep immediately. Instead my mind raced to my "storehouse" of Bible knowledge. I KNEW these were Jesus' words to His disciples following the Feeding of the 5,000.
I searched them out specifically the next morning. (By the way, except for the resurrection of Christ, the Feeding of the 5,000 is the only other miracle recorded in all four Gospels.) Matthew, Mark and Luke all say something like this: "They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over."
I didn't fall back to sleep immediately. Instead my mind raced to my "storehouse" of Bible knowledge. I KNEW these were Jesus' words to His disciples following the Feeding of the 5,000.
I searched them out specifically the next morning. (By the way, except for the resurrection of Christ, the Feeding of the 5,000 is the only other miracle recorded in all four Gospels.) Matthew, Mark and Luke all say something like this: "They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over."
However, John wrote (6:12-13) "After everyone was full, Jesus told his
disciples, 'Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.' So they
picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people
who had eaten from the five barley loaves."
The immediate message was clear to me. My own body had been broken several times in 2014. A recent fall has left me in a some pretty serious pain and semi-dependent on the assistance of my husband. There are times when I wonder if pain and stilted movements will be part of the rest-of-my-life. "Broken" well describes my spirit at times...
But the instruction was clear (then AND now): "Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted."
Imagine my sense of amazement and awe the next morning when a friend responded with these words to my facebook message thanking her for visiting us the previous night and bringing along a book I've been wanting to read:
We
enjoyed it as well.
Seems like something that could have happened in
the book you're reading.
May your recovery be speedy and unwasted.
May your recovery be speedy and unwasted.
Unwasted! Let NOTHING be wasted, Lord!
Not the pain. Not the brokenness. Not even the recovery!
NOTHING.
NOTHING.
