Tostino's Pizza and A little Faith

What if your spouse died and you found you were left with nothing but a Tostino's pizza? What if the creditors came to collect your credit card debt and demanded your children for payment? Who would you turn to for help? How would you respond?

Today I studied 2 Kings 4. Elisha the prophet was minding his own business when a widow came to him and explained that her husband was dead and the creditors were coming to take her 2 sons as slaves. Elisha simply asked, "What do you want? What do you have?"

The woman's answer was typical of most of us. "I have nothing," she said, "EXCEPT this jar of oil." Isn't that our first response? "I have nothing." We can't see all we do have because life's problems are so huge in our minds we are blinded to the amazing possibilities.

Elisha ignored the nothing and focused on the exception. He told her to go to her friends and borrow as many empty containers as possible. "Not too few," the Bible says. The lady and her sons rallied the neighborhood and filled her house with all the jars, bowls, cups, and containers they could find.

She headed back to Elisha and asked, "What next?" The wise prophet told her to pour the little bit of oil she had into a jar. When it was full, move on to the next jar. Keeping filling until each container held it's limit. The lady and hers sons diligently obeyed. As they poured and moved jars, the room was covered with pockets of oil.

Reading the Bible can often leave us removed from the reality of the moment. As I thought about what this woman experienced, a strange idea came to mind. What if I was that widow?  Suppose my husband passed away, the creditors came for my credit card debt and threatened to come back tomorrow to take my son and daughter. What if all I had was a Tostino's pizza? Suppose, I quickly ran to church and explained to my pastor the situation and he replied, "What do you want? What do you have?" I simply replied, "Nothing except a Tostino's pizza."

Imagine my pastor saying go to all your neighbors and get as many cookie sheets as you can. Take them home. Lock yourself and your kids in your house and begin to cut the pizza. Fill each cookie sheet with pizza. What? Would I have looked at him like he was crazy? Would I have begged my neighbors for cooking utensils and really cut the pizza? What if I did? What if with each cut the dough grew and replaced the removed piece? What if I somehow filled every cookie sheet with pizza from that one cheap little $1.25 plastic tasting pizza?

After the widow filled the jars, she returned to Elisha and told him what happened. He said, "Sell all the oil and you will have enough for you and your sons to live." She must have been ecstatic as she ran home yelling at her boys, "Come on guys, let's go to town and get rid of this mess. We are going to survive!"

After thinking about this experience, I read Matthew 9:2,

“According to your faith let it be done to you." 

Think of the amount of faith required to go to Elisha and ask for help. Trust his advice. Beg your neighbors for help. Pick up the only possession they owned and pour it out. 

What if the widow had laughed at Elisha, ignored his advice, doubted God's plan, created her own scheme, or quit? Instead, she BELIEVED and according to her faith, she and her family lived!

In what area of your life is God calling you to BELIEVE? Is there a relationship, situation, problem or trial that God is waiting to provide, heal, or fix? Do you feel like he'll never answer? Maybe...He's responding according to your faith. Is he waiting on you to truly BELIEVE so He can amazingly respond? 

Put your faith in Him and take action. Look for the oil or nasty cheap pizza He wants to use to answer your greatest need. Talk to Him and get moving putting your faith in motion! 

We Never Know

The past several years God has taught me a valuable lesson through 3 experiences. 

We never know how long we will be in a place or have an influence.

The past several years, I served as the girls minister at our church. I thought I would be doing that job for a long time because I absolutely loved it.  Little did I know, God had other plans for me. An opportunity came for me to not only serve 300 girls but to care for and lead 1300 children. I knew that was where God was calling me. When serving as the girls minister, though, I had no idea that my time with each of the girls would be so brief. The chance I had to influence was cut short and the opportunity to point teenagers to Jesus ended.

The past several years, I also had the opportunity to care for a very special young man. The plan was for him to be part of our lives for 3 years until it was time to go to college. Little did I know, the plan would change and the opportunity to love and lead would be stripped from my heart.

Around Christmas I had the chance to lead a group of girls in Bible study. I knew for sure we would meet through the entire school year and hopefully into summer. Circumstances changed and stuff got in the way and the study ended.

As I look back at each situation I realize that in the middle of each experience I had no idea what was around the corner. I didn't know how brief my time would be or how short the opportunity to make a difference.

What I learned is I have to invest in every moment. Each person, each experience, each opportunity, each relationship, each minute given must be invested wisely because you never know when the person will leave, the experience will end, the opportunity will change, or the relationship will fade. 

People and opportunities come and go and for how long we are not to know.
But the influence that is made in the time generously given.
Is a precious, valuable gift sent from heaven.
So given 110 to every life, person, and friend.
Leave an impact before it ends.
Point, love, and lead each one the right way.
Because you never know when it all fades away.

Do YOUR Thing

Do you like to read? I'm reading the book, "Developing the Leader Within You," by John Maxwell. The author asks a pertinent question that continues to ring in my thoughts, "What is the one thing ONLY YOU can do?"

Each of us is placed at this moment in time, in the community we live, in the place we work or serve, with the people in our path, with a unique personality, skill set, talents, and gifts that no one else possesses. 

Look at your skin. Seriously, right now, look at  your arm. You were created with a specific color, frame, look, build and appearance that no other person will ever have the opportunity to share.

Now think about the things you love to do most. Reading, computers, sports, writing, acting, speaking, planning, building, organizing? What do you love to do so much, that you would do it all day long and not one person would ever have to pay you to do it.

When you put it all together, shake it up, and pat it down, there you have YOU-the one and only. So the question remains, "What is the one thing ONLY YOU can do?"

People might laugh at your thing. Busyness of life will try to steal that one assignment. Fear will keep you from trying it. Addictions and temptation will kill it. Doubt will stop you from doing it, but..

there is one person who can do that one thing...that's ONLY YOU!

If you don't know your thing, write down what only you can do. Think about the people in your family, school, work, or neighborhood. What can you do that none of them can?

We have a limited number of days on this earth and we have no idea in what time frame we have to do our thing, so watch, prepare, be ready and when the time is right...DO YOUR THING!