‘After this, Jesus crossed over to the far side of the Sea of Galilee, also known as the Sea of Tiberias. A huge crowd kept following him wherever he went, because they saw his miraculous signs as he healed the sick. Then Jesus climbed a hill and sat down with his disciples around him. (It was nearly time for the Jewish Passover celebration.) Jesus soon saw a huge crowd of people coming to look for him. Turning to Philip, he asked, “Where can we buy bread to feed all these people?” He was testing Philip, for he already knew what he was going to do. Philip replied, “Even if we worked for months, we wouldn’t have enough money to feed them!” Then Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up. “There’s a young boy here with five barley loaves and two fish. But what good is that with this huge crowd?” “Tell everyone to sit down,” Jesus said. So they all sat down on the grassy slopes. (The men alone numbered about 5,000.) Then Jesus took the loaves, gave thanks to God, and distributed them to the people. Afterward he did the same with the fish. And they all ate as much as they wanted. After everyone was full, Jesus told his disciples, “Now gather the leftovers, so that nothing is wasted.” So they picked up the pieces and filled twelve baskets with scraps left by the people who had eaten from the five barley loaves. When the people saw him do this miraculous sign, they exclaimed, “Surely, he is the Prophet we have been expecting!” ‘ John 6:1-14(NLT)
‘Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think. ‘ Ephesians 3:20(NLT)
I was convinced as a teenager that my mom was somehow a mutant with supernatural powers. She was phenomenal. She would teach middle schoolers with severe disabilities all day, come home, cook dinner, help three teenagers with homework, and run a house all by herself. Right? Freak of nature.
And those were just the things that I could see. Now that I’m a mom, I understand so much more about what she did when we were young and self-absorbed. And she did it without any thought to credit or accolade. There was no Pinterest board or Instagram account to prove her success in raising three kids. No one ever saw, shared, or commented on her life, encouraging her forward, and yet, she persisted, creating a powerful, rippling effect.
In John 6, thousands of people had poured out of the city to come and hear Jesus speak and be healed. Jesus took pity on them and asked the disciples to feed them. They had nothing but a small boy’s lunch—five loaves and two fish. Jesus took it, blessed it, broke it and fed the thousands, leaving enough for twelve baskets of leftovers. The people said, “this is it, this is the Savior we’ve been waiting for!”
But what if it was a mother who made that boy’s lunch? Did she wake up late and barely have time to shove food in a sack and send him out? Was it the day before payday and she was scraping together what little she had left? Did she get up early and write a note on the outside of the bag? Traditionally, women made the bread and prepared the meals, but we don’t know for sure what unsung hero packed the lunch that day. But what we do know is that Jesus blessed the mundane, overlooked chore, multiplied it, and used it to shine a light on the Savior of the world.
Do you feel unseen? God sees you and He is, “able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us.” He is working right now in the midst of your motherhood.
To the foster mom who never knows her effect on the children who come through her home. To the mom who surrendered her child to a loving adoptive family. To the working mom who never misses a ball game. To the mom who walks through the grocery store with spit-up running down her back, God says, “I recognize the work. No one, not even you, will understand the amount of impact your motherhood will have on the world. But, every lunch you make may feed thousands. Every boo-boo you kiss may create a cure for disease. Every midnight phone call may lead thousands to know Jesus one day.”
It’s because of my mom, these words are reaching you today. Mom, I see you. And… Look, look what you did.
Prayer:
Dear Lord Jesus, bless every load of laundry we fold, every phone we ground, every sock we pick up off the floor. Bless them just like you blessed the meal of the small boy with five loaves and two fishes, break them, multiply these blessings, use them to further your kingdom, and may you receive all the honor and glory, Amen.