In an Appalachian coal town...
Illustration
In an Appalachian coal town a single parent was asked how she kept her life on an even keel. For the two years since her husband's sudden death, she had taken in laundry, cooked meals at the county jail, baked pies for two restaurants in town, sat for the neighbor's children, and still managed to care for her three sons, all under the age of ten.
"I won't claim it's been that easy," she said to the inquirer, a middle aged woman who had grown to admire the younger one's maturity. "When things get really bad, though, I think about the miracle of the loaves and the fishes."
The other woman raised her eyebrows slightly, waiting for an explanation.
The other looked off at the hills and searched for what she wanted to say. Finally, taking in a breath, she looked back at her friend and continued, "Look. I'm not very big. I'm not very strong. The Lord knows I don't have much patience, and I never got all the education I wanted. But I think of how those people took the little bit they had and gave it to Jesus. Then Jesus took that little bit and blessed it and turned it into enough for everyone. I guess that's why I think on the loaves and the fishes. When I don't seem to have enough for the job at hand, I offer to him what I do have. He blesses it and makes it do."
"I won't claim it's been that easy," she said to the inquirer, a middle aged woman who had grown to admire the younger one's maturity. "When things get really bad, though, I think about the miracle of the loaves and the fishes."
The other woman raised her eyebrows slightly, waiting for an explanation.
The other looked off at the hills and searched for what she wanted to say. Finally, taking in a breath, she looked back at her friend and continued, "Look. I'm not very big. I'm not very strong. The Lord knows I don't have much patience, and I never got all the education I wanted. But I think of how those people took the little bit they had and gave it to Jesus. Then Jesus took that little bit and blessed it and turned it into enough for everyone. I guess that's why I think on the loaves and the fishes. When I don't seem to have enough for the job at hand, I offer to him what I do have. He blesses it and makes it do."
