Came to a village called Zarephath – not in his own land, foreign village – would anyone want to help him here? He was a stranger.
Saw a woman gathering sticks.
Could you give me some bread to eat?
All on my own with my son. Have almost nothing left. This morning I looked in the flour jar and there was just one handful left. Little oil to mix it. Gathering a few sticks to make a fire. Make some bread and then that’s it – our last meal.
Elijah said – make the bread and share some with me too.
Woman decided that she couldn’t let this man go hungry. Even if they had so little they could share what they had.
Made the bread and gave some to Elijah
Then they lay down to sleep. In the morning the woman woke up - there would be nothing for breakfast now…
She took the lid off the jar and looked in, even though she knew it was empty…
And there was flour in it – not a lot, just one handful more. The oil jar had just a little oil in it too. She made some more bread – had what they needed that day too, and every day until the drought ended.
Strange story – don’t know if it really happened, but it helps us to remember something important.
Easy to share when we have lots, but much harder when we just have a little, when we think we might run out.
But it matters just as much then.
Credit crunch – banks – grown ups getting worried about having enough money. First thing people stop doing is sharing – giving to people who need money. We might not have much but many others have even less. Even more important to share rather than hang onto what we have when there isn’t much to go around.
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