The Girl (and her lunch)

I can not tell you how many times in our years of raising a big family I fell back on the example of Jesus and His disciples feeding 5000 with a boys lunch. Making a little bit into much because God is in it. I wonder sometimes, if the boy's mom packed with the thought that her son might be sharing. I wonder how big the loaves and fishes were and what he carried them in..

 Many mom's apparently make sandwiches ahead, as in the night before the next school day. And some even make enough ahead to freeze and pull them out as needed. I never trusted the bread to not get soggy so didn't try that inspite of the fact that their kids did not complain that theirs were soggy. My approach was the morning line up. Generally I was making six lunches each morning and had a system to this while remembering who liked mayo, who hated it ect and hopefully getting the right sandwich into the right bag. We also relied on the tried and true PB and J.

So now at the tail end of school lunch years, with most of our kids grown and out of the house, I no longer have the line up. I am making one school lunch on a school day. Generally I have always overpacked for this particular one. She never ate much while at school as a gradeschooler but would eat most of what was left on the way home when her appetite returned. School was somewhat stressful as far as she was concerned and she did not want to eat while she was there much to the concern of teachers and lunchroom monitors.

Evidently these days, this year, she shares her lunch with fellow hungry high school students. She makes sure to eat something too, in case you are concerned for her. Since I learned of this sharing, I pack a bit differently. I pack with this in mind. She normally still has something left to eat on the way home but not always, which is ok because she can eat when we get home anyway.

One day heading home after school she was pulling something out from her bag and told me she was given banana bread from a student that day so actually had several things still to choose from. We were stopped at a traffic light and could see several car lengths ahead a man with a sign at the side of the road. I am not sure exactly what all it said but it is an uncomfortable, familiar sight. Things were happening quickly since the light changed but she suddenly said "I have food. I could give him my lunch." We passed him by. I looked at her and said "I can turn around".

Frankly I was low on gas and still had another student (who had fallen into an after school power nap in the car oblivious to all of this transpiring) to take home as well. Finding a place to turn around in the stretch ahead would be an inconvenience and my mind wanted to figure out whether he was telling the truth on his sign. But we were giving food not money. And my daughter was giving her lunch to Jesus since He said "when you do it to the least of these you do it unto Me" You know, a cup of cold water in His name. Feeding the hungry. Visiting the sick. Those in prison. Loving the unlovely, seemingly least important ones, like He loved me when I didn't deserve it. From Matthew 25:34-40

We were trying to figure out how to manuver so it could be me handing the lunch out, not my daughter (we have seen too many/heard too many things that make us stranger leary) but when it came down to it, when we could finally get turned around and then turned around again it had to be her handing the lunch through her window. And he did seem grateful. And we were glad too.

Did he really have the kids at home like his sign said? If so, did one get the applesauce, another the cookies? Did they split the sandwich and banana bread? I don't know. Or was it the first meal this man had in a day? Maybe. Maybe not. But Jesus knows and we are leaving that with Him.

Proverbs 22:9  A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.

Just as a PS. Several weeks after all this, I was at school (I am attending Charis Bible College) one of the ladies also attending held up a large jar of Welches Grape Jam.

She asked me "Do you have a bunch of kids?"  "I do but they are all pretty much grown now...Is that grape jam? That is my daughters favorite. She loves jam rather than jelly"

"Take it for her." Isn't that just how God is? He knows and provides our FAVORITE..

I was able to say to my daughter that day as I handed it over "Jesus loves you Lily" :)

Blessings!

Every Child (needs a mom who..)

I find myself telling people these days, these things,from my mom perspective that every child needs from a mom...

Every child needs a mom who is their cheerleader ( you are going to do amazing things in the future! You are created for something you will be uniquely fitted for. God has good plans for you, for a future and for a hope... and as they are grown ups doing life with their own husband/wife/kids..you are doing so well...when things are getting them down...yes this is hard but look at how well you do this with husband/wife/kids/job/school...God IS with you...)

Every child needs a mom who will cry over them ( in the years of wondering and wandering...in the times of "friends" betraying them...in any of life's brokeness...when they don't see a light ahead or reject the things we know will keep them from painful consequences)

Every child needs a mom who will pray for them ( waging war in the spirit for them...bringing them before the throne of God with His promises from His word...and letting them know you pray for them)

Those are the top three I usually share with people but for the sake of the blog I am adding a few:

Every child needs a mom who will celebrate them (they are a gift from God, Birthdays, Christmas, other holidays and just tucking something special in their lunch or on their pillow to find when they come home)

Every child needs a mom who will lay down her life for them (while a mom's world can not entirely revolve around her children, it goes without saying there are many moments of sacrifice on her part for the good of her children...and sometimes that means working on a difficult marriage for their good because another thing every child needs is their Dad ...yes I did go there and I did say that which seems to be very contrary to societies recommendations...and not meant to criticize moms who gave it their all yet still saw a marriage end)

Every child needs a mom who knows when to say no (and when to say get up and get going...structure and discipline)

Every child  needs a mom who laughs (because some of life is just plain funny! And laughter is like medicine keeping us healthy)

Every child needs a mom who fixes food (and has a specialty...ummm one of mine is peanut butter and grape jam sandwiches...but there you go...doesn't have to be fancy... and one who knows their favorite meals)

Every child needs a mom who worships the One True God (and doesn't hide it from them but models it in the home and gets them to places where others do too)

Which brings me to sharing this song so you can take a bit of time for worship right now:

Obviously there are more things but that's it for now from me... Now go love your kids! You are doing a great job by the way...
 Blessings!