Good morning, afternoon or evening, (depending on where you are in the world right now)! Today is one of my favorite days of the year… Call me a narcissist if you’d like, but it’s one of my favorite days because it’s my BIRTHDAY! In my family, birthdays are celebrated from sunrise to sunset with fun parties, delicious treats, and more love than you can imagine! I remember as a young girl, waking up and having this magical feeling where I genuinely believed the day was going to be special and that I was the princess for the day. My parents and grandparents, friends, and siblings have always been so sweet in making my day feel extra special, so it’s safe to say that when I woke up this morning, I knew today was going to be great!

My morning started around 5:30am as I heard the sounds of the sea. I live in Canada, so this was a very pleasant and welcomed sound. Also, I’m not a morning person, so don’t be fooled into thinking that I actually got up out of bed at 5:30… (that happened around 8:00am) But I laid there thinking through what the day would be like and planning out in my mind what I would wear today. Then I remembered it was my birthday, and I also remembered where I was. The thought hit me so quickly, and I instantly felt warm and fuzzy as I realized that the sounds of the sea were not just in my head, but they were outside my window coming from the actual Sea of Galilee.

That was when my thoughts started shifting from planning mode to prayer mode. I started praying, not really knowing where mine and God’s conversation would take me, but it ended up to me thinking about the significance of the Sea of Galilee. As many of you know, this is where Jesus and the disciples fed the 5000. I learned about this in children’s church, when I was little, and it just really stuck. I always liked this story, but it became more significant to me during my first missions trip to Nicaragua with 2 of my best friends.

On that trip, we fed hundreds of kids at various feeding programs set up in churches all across Managua. The food was provided by the mission (WMO), and it was usually served by members in the church and community. During our trip though, we had the chance and privilege to trade roles and do the serving ourselves. There was one moment where we began to run short on food, and I remember being really anxious about how things would go down if we couldn’t feed all the kids. In my home country, when you run out, you just get more. But here, it wasn’t like that. Granted, it wasn’t what I thought it either. I started to accept that we were going run out of food, and I let some of the leaders know. They explained that when we run out, that’s it. There isn’t like a “go get more” option in this scenario.

So, me and the girls started silently praying while we continued to serve, and I promise you I watched the food remain even though it was served. I can’t explain it fully, but it was like you would scoop a spoon-full, but the food would still be at the same level of the bowl. Bottom line, we had enough. More than enough. We didn’t run out, and we didn’t have to go get more. I thought there were only 2 options: get more, or that’s it no more. But with God, there is always another option: Provision. He provided that day, the same way that He provided for the 5000 people here at the Sea of Galilee.

A story that seemed so real when I was a child, turned into a story that was just that (a story) when I became an adult. But when I experienced God’s provision in a miracle when He gave us all the food we needed for our kids that day, that story seemed real again. This story is what helped me and girls decide to name our non-profit Feeding the 5000. It wasn’t just a trendy, marketable name. It was almost like God gave us the name that day along with His provisions. To learn more about Feeding the 5000, click here.

I hope you enjoy today as much as I am, and don’t forget that miracles are real, even for adults.

– the Wife