When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”  So, they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten. John 6: 12-13 NIV

Are you feeling exhausted, worn out with all the rush and preparation that our civilized ‘first-world’ celebration of Christmas includes?

I have 4 sets of friends who are sick with bad colds, ordinary viruses or Covid.  They are run down. It’s the end of the calendar year, the end of the first semester of school. And ever since mid-October, it’s been push, push, push with first Halloween, then Thanksgiving, and now Christmas.

I’m referring to the commercial busyness we take on, not the quiet, meditative heart preparation that Thanksgiving and Advent provide. We neglect our hearts to comply with the cultural expectations that take over our thoughts.  

So, when these verses in John popped up this morning in my study, I saw refreshing news! 

Fact – we have a good Father who provides us with abundant leftovers. So what? What does that imply? 

For me, that means that today’s looming ‘To Do’ list that I jotted down shouldn’t unsettle me.  Sure, half of what I have planned involves people I want to write or message, but the other items are household chores, appointments or scheduled activities. 

What I have found over the past 15 years is that when I daily hand over to God my availability for his purposes, when I prioritize people over tasks, God is faithful to stretch my hours to accomplish most of what I deemed important. Plus there always seems to be time to relax and read for 15 minutes before I start the evening dinner prep.  (Reading is my restoration time).

Here is what I wrote down this morning in my journal: “Maria, don’t hoard time or worry about ‘getting things done’.  Don’t worry about if we have enough money when the Lord prompts you to give.  For in God’s kingdom, his leftovers are more than that with which you started the day, or the month”

Isn’t that what this miracle shows?  Jesus began with 5 small rolls of bread and a couple of dry sardines.  And when the disciples collected the leftovers, not only had the multitudes eaten to their satisfaction, there were twelve baskets of life-sustaining bread to more than take care of the hunger of the disciples.  The generous boy and Jesus’ guys were well taken care of.

So, take a deep breath, relax and trust our generous Father who richly provides all we need.