Give What You Have
 

Give What You Have

They said to Him, We have nothing here but five loaves and two fish. He said, Bring them here to Me. Then He ordered the crowds to recline on the grass; and He took the five loaves and the two fish, and, looking up to heaven, He gave thanks and blessed and broke the loaves and handed the pieces to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. — Matthew 14:17-19

One of the biggest mistakes we can make in life is to focus on what we don't have or have lost and fail to take an inventory of what we do have. When Jesus desired to feed five thousand men—plus women and children—the disciples said all they had was a little boy's lunch, which consisted of five small loaves of bread and two fish. They assured Him it was not enough for a crowd the size they had. However, Jesus took the lunch and multiplied it. He fed thousands of men, women, and children and had twelve baskets of leftovers (see Matthew 14:15-21).

If we will just give God what we have, He will use it and give us back more than we had to begin with. The Bible says that God created everything we see out of "things that are unseen," so I have decided that if He can do that, surely He can do something with my little bit—no matter how unimpressive it is.

Lord, thank You for all You have given me. I ask You to use it for Your glory and to provide all that I need. Amen.

From the book The Confident Woman Devotional: 365 Daily Devotions by Joyce Meyer.

Like this, in early recovery I felt guilty about not always being able to put money in the 7th Tradition. I was told it wasn't about the money, that time and service were just as precious as the almighty $. I was told, those that have, give what they can. Someone will put in a $ for you.

This applied to my church, to my AA and Al-Anon groups, and to my home life.

A friend wouldn't share on my sites because she couldn't do what I could do. I said, "You have great words to share, it doesn't matter what form they take, it is about the giving and sharing with others." I volunteered at detox, in treatment centers, in an internet cafe, my web pages before the server closed, and shared my story with others at meetings and here.

She did things I couldn't do like going into soup kitchens, walks for Aids and Domestic Violence, and into the jail for NA, which was how we met.

We all have special gifts, some we do better than others, but isn't about better than any one else. It is about trying to give the best of what we have., how every big or small it may be.