A Feast of Leftovers

As a little girl, I loved rummaging through my grandmother's basement, a treasure trove of dusty souvenirs from the past. Grandma Evans grew up during the Depression, and that experience honed a frugal nature to refinement. She didn't throw away scraps of food or keepsakes or memorabilia or much of anything.

Because she was fastidious, her saving didn't cross into hoarding, but it was a source of amusement for the family. I remember her trying to get us to load her "treasures" into our car for the long trip home from Kansas to North Carolina. With a twinkle in his eye, my dad would say, "I'll take care of that for you, Lula." Grandma would quickly snatch back her offering, knowing that his words meant that it would be deposited in the nearest dump.

Among the things that I love about Jesus, I love His frugal ways dearly. In reading John's account of the feeding of the five thousand, the story ends these beautiful words in red, "Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted." (John 6:12)

With God, even leftovers are abundant.

He uses everything and doesn't waste anything.

What seems wasted in your life? What seems like just leftovers? God has a plan for those things too. He has even accounted for our tears.

"Record my lament; list my tears on your scroll--are they not in your record?" (Psalm 56:8)

Every moment, every tear, every hair is recorded and matters until there are no more tears at all. (Rev. 21:4)

Don't you just love Jesus for that?