Loaves and Fish

Maria burst into the kitchen, tears streaming down her face. "I'm a terrible dancer!" she cried. "I'll never be a great ballerina. Everyone else in the class can grand jeté, but not me. I'm terrible. I quit!"

Mom set a lid on a simmering soup pot. "But you love ballet, and you're performing in the Christmas celebration at church next week."

"Not anymore," said Maria. "Trust me, no one wants to see me dance. I'd probably ruin the whole show."

Mom turned toward the stove and took the lid off the pot. "Do you see this vegetable stew? I'm taking it to church tomorrow for the weekly lunch for the homeless." Mom shook her head. "The problem of homelessness really bothers me. I'd like to feed all the homeless people in the city. Do you think this stew can do that?"

"No way," said Maria. "It's a big pot, but it's not that big."

Mom picked up the pot and walked toward the sink. "I can't feed everyone? Then I give up!" She tilted the pot over the sink.

"Stop, Mom!" cried Maria. "No one expects you to feed everyone."

Mom smiled and set the pot back on the stove. "That's right. This stew is my five loaves and two fish."

Maria glanced at the stew. "I thought it was potato and carrot."

Mom laughed. "When Jesus fed the five thousand, He used a boy's lunch--five loaves and two fish. When I see myself in that story, I'm not Jesus. I don't perform miracles! Instead, I'm the boy. I have only small gifts to give Jesus, but He can use them to do something great."

Maria looked up. "Like my dancing?"

"What do you think?"

"Well, I do love ballet," Maria admitted. "I've loved to dance since I was little."

"God gave you that love for dance," said Mom. "It's a gift you can give back to Him."

Maria smiled. "Okay, I'll stick with it. Even if I'm never a famous ballerina, I can still use my dancing to glorify God." She pirouetted around the kitchen table and kissed Mom on the cheek. "I'll trust Jesus to use my loaves and fish to make this a Christmas celebration to remember!"

–Jennifer Dillard