Nothing Lost

After this Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, also called the Sea of Tiberias. A large crowd kept following him, because they saw the signs that he was doing for the sick. Jesus went up the mountain and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the festival of the Jews, was near. When he looked up and saw a large crowd coming toward him, Jesus said to Philip, “Where are we to buy bread for these people to eat?” He said this to test him, for he himself knew what he was going to do. Philip answered him, “Six months’ wages would not buy enough bread for each of them to get a little.” One of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, said to him, “There is a boy here who has five barley loaves and two fish. But what are they among so many people?” Jesus said, “Make the people sit down.” Now there was a great deal of grass in the place; so they sat down, about five thousand in all. Then Jesus took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated; so also the fish, as much as they wanted. When they were satisfied, he told his disciples, “Gather up the fragments left over, so that nothing may be lost.” So they gathered them up, and from the fragments of the five barley loaves, left by those who had eaten, they filled twelve baskets. When the people saw the sign that he had done, they began to say, “This is indeed the prophet who is to come into the world.” John 6:1-14 

There are miracles in our lives that we never notice. How the friendship and kindness of one person will make a permanent imprint on our soul. How the love we have for someone, even after they are gone, is still rich and deep. We mourn our beloved ones, yet they stay with us every day. A smile from a child or a stranger can restore our hope and faith. The goodness of our Creator is miraculous and every day, mundane stuff, if we choose it.

The hungry crowd was too much for the disciples but not for Jesus. He saw their need and satisfied everyone with the small child's lunch. A tiny offering became the miracle of thousands. Yet, Jesus also stayed with the mundane, the fragments and the leftovers. He made sure that nothing that would give life would be lost. We are invited to see the miraculous in the mundane, the leftovers and the fragments in our lives.

Today, I ask God to help me see the every day miracles, the mundane moments of blessing. May we who ache to be satisfied, see that we are being gathered up from the fragments and remade into sustenance for those who might be lost.