Let’s talk about bread. Any fellow bread lovers out there? I have a hard time passing up on some good bread with lots of butter. After enjoying that bread, there are usually some crumbs left behind that are tossed away with little thought.
In the story of Jesus feeding the five thousand found in John 6, we see Jesus take bread, give thanks, and distribute it to those present, as much as they wanted. When everyone had all that they wanted, the pieces left over, the crumbs, were gathered up so that nothing is wasted.
This is not unlike our own lives in the hands of the One who provides, blesses, and gives so generously. Jesus takes our lives, gives thanks to the Father, and as we journey through life, the pieces fall … our own “bread crumbs.” These crumbs represent our life experiences, highs and lows, joys and sorrows. God sees them all and holds them all in His hands.
The trials we encounter in life are some of the bread crumbs of our lives, pieces that in the hands of Jesus, are never wasted. Without these crumbs, our lives would be incomplete. Everything is a part of the journey that leads back to wholeness found only in the hands of Jesus. We may want to toss some of those bread crumbs away, but Jesus wants to gather them up. Nothing is wasted. What a beautiful picture of a broken life made whole.
May we not be so quick to toss our bread crumbs away, but instead, gather them up and give thanks to God. God will use them for His good and glory if we allow them to become part of the whole of our lives. Nothing is wasted.
Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated, as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish. When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.”
~ John 6:11-12 ~
Your fellow sojourner,
Jennifer Thomas
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