It’s snow time in Montana! Two weeks ago, we had 18 inches of snow fall at our house. In the valley below us, the horses and cows scraped through the snow with their hooves, trying to get at the green grass hidden below all that white stuff. All the wildlife was hungry and unhappy. The snow hid all the food for a week! What would they do? They had to depend on the ranchers, who put hay out for them to eat. Some of the wild animals ate it, too. It was a time when food there was not much food.
Once there was a widow and her little son who lived in a land where there was no food. It wasn’t because of snow. It was because there had been no rain for a long, long time. Without rain, the crops did not grow. The widow lived in the town of Zarephath (sounds like Zar-rah-fath). One day, she went out to try to find some sticks to build a fire. While she was working, a man came up to her and said, “Would you bring me a little bit of water in a jar? I’m thirsty.”
She nodded and turned to go get some water for the stranger. “Oh, and by the way,” he said, “would you also bring me a piece of bread, please?”
The woman said, “I don’t have any bread. I’m just out here picking up a few sticks to make a fire to use for cooking the last little bit of flour I have. My son and I will eat it, and then we will die, because there is no food.”
The man said, “Don’t be afraid. Go home and make that bread, but first make a little bit of bread for me, then make some for your son and for yourself. The Lord, the God of Israel, says this: ‘The flour and the jar of oil for making bread will not be empty until the Lord sends rain on the land.’” The man was a prophet of the one true God! His hame was Elijah.
The woman went home. She made a little bit of bread for Elijah then made some for her son and for herself. She used up the last of her flour and oil. Together, they ate the bread. The next time she looked in the flour jar and in the jar for oil, though, there was more in the jar! There was enough for another meal. For about three years, God gave the woman enough food for each day. (This story is found in 1 Kings 17:7-15.)
Sometimes life can be hard. Sometimes we may not think we will have enough to eat or warm clothes to wear tomorrow. Like the horses and cows, we have to depend on someone else for help. Do you know who is always there to help us? God is! When we love Jesus, God’s Son, we become part of God’s family. God has so much love that he sees each one of us as though we were his only child! And God always takes good care of his children.
Jesus told his followers that we should not worry about food or clothes, because God knows we need them. We should ask God for what we need every day, and thank him for what he gives us. When we trust God like that, he puts happiness and peace in our hearts. Like the rancher who sees the snow covering up the food for his animals and puts out hay, God sees when his children cannot find food. He promises to take care of us!
Until our next Campfire, I’m sending you hugs and kisses!
Montana Gramma