As fall approaches and new Bible studies begin, I wanted to repost this piece that includes a look back at a Bible study group that has meant so much to me.

Do you ever wonder if your mothering matters? If your grandparenting has influence? If your ministry has impact?

The diapers and discipline, the prayers you pray for your grandchildren, the people you serve as you fund raise or teach or write or show hospitality … do your efforts seem small? Do the tasks seem unimportant?

They are not.

For many years I was part of a women’s group that read through the Bible in a year. Each Monday night we met to discuss what we had read. Our discussions were free wheeling.

Once when the reading plan had us in First Samuel, Lynn wondered how David knew exactly what was going to happen when he fought Goliath—he called it just like it happened. Linda suggested that perhaps God had told him ahead of time.

I said I wasn’t sure about that. Maybe David knew a stone to the head might knock Goliath down and out but not necessarily kill him. And cutting off the head of one’s enemy seems to have been not uncommon.

But Goliath losing his head is not the point of me telling you this story.

There was a bit of quiet. Then Linda said, “You know, David had all of Saul’s heavy armor at first, and then he went with just those few stones. It made me think of the feeding of the five thousand. Where Andrew found the little boy with the few loaves and fishes, and then he said, ‘But what good is that with this huge crowd?’ ” (John 6:9).

She went on. “With Jesus, that little bit of food was enough. With God, David’s few stones–just one was enough.”

I’ve been thinking about this. How shocked the disciples must have been when those loaves and fishes just kept multiplying. How convinced David was that he was facing off Goliath in God’s power and for God’s reputation.

Do you ever feel “not enough”? Small? Others are smarter, wiser, more clever, more financially stable, making more of a contribution?

I know that feeling quite well!

But our expectations can deceive and derail us if they aren’t God’s expectations. The disciples’ expectations on that grassy hillside were all wrong. And the expectations of the noisy, notice-me world around us will cheerfully chomp us to pieces. Goliath certainly thought he’d devour David.

So let’s remember this the next time we feel small: God works with small offerings and firm faith.

And we’ve got those.

DIANE

Looking for a new kind of Bible study? Why not read through the Bible in a year? All you need is some encouragement and a simple tool to get you started. Learn more here.

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