Dear Friends,
Those of you who have been reading each week know it has been a bit of a stressful season for me as we’ve had three new foster kids move in during the last two months. The kids are all great, but there have been so many things that need to be done - doctor and dentist appointments, school registration, meetings with teachers, clothes shopping, learning what foods each of them will eat, and so on. I feel happy about what we’re doing but often quite tired. Reading the scriptures continues to give me a sense of peace and contentment each day. This week I’ve been meditating on this sentence.
“Give to the one who asks you,
and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.”
-Matthew 5:42
Often when I read these words, I wonder if I’m doing enough and if I should be giving more. But this week, I felt the opposite. These words gave me peace and rest as I felt assured that I don’t need to be more than what I am or do more than what has been asked of me. Jesus asks us to give to the “one.” The one right in front of us. The one asking us right now for what they need. I’m one very small, weak, and foolish person. It isn’t my job to solve everyone’s problems or fix all that is broken in the world. It’s my job to be good to the person who is right here right now. And that, a small, weak, and foolish person like me can do.
Here is my prayer for us this week: Lord Jesus, come to us and give us peace. There is much going on in this crazy world around us that we can’t fix. There is much going on even in our own lives and our own families that we don’t have control over. Help us to be simple people, listening to your voice day by day and doing the small, simple things you’ve called us to do. Help us to be kind and generous to those you bring before us and to trust you to take care of the rest.
Love in Christ,
Michelle
