Helping Hands

"Why do we have to pick up Mr. Cook?" asked Brady. "The nursing home is a long way from the park.""If we don't pick him up, he won't get to come to the church picnic," Dad answered as he drove. "Since we pick him up on the way to church each week, we can bring him to the picnic too. It's a small thing we can do for the Lord."Brady thought about that. "It seems like a funny way to do something for God. I mean, God could take Mr. Cook to the picnic on a flying carpet if He wanted to. He doesn't really need our help, does He?"Just then they arrived at the nursing home. Mr. Cook was waiting outside just like each Sunday when they picked him up for church. But today he had a small brown bag, which he waved in the air. "I remembered it was a picnic," he said. "I brought some lunch."At the park, Mom spread their lunch on a picnic table. She had brought ham and cheese sandwiches, potato salad, carrots with dip, lemonade, watermelon, and chocolate chip cookies for dessert. Brady saw Mr. Cook open his bag at the end of the table and take out a bologna sandwich. Mom motioned for him to move closer to all the food. "Don't eat all by yourself," she told him. "Come on! Put your lunch with ours and we'll share. There's plenty to go around."Mr. Cook grinned and scooted over. He carefully placed his sandwich next to the ham and cheese sandwiches. He might as well not have bothered with that, thought Brady. Who's going to eat it? They prayed and began to eat. To Brady's surprise, his little sister immediately reached for the bologna sandwich.Dad leaned toward him. "Brady," he whispered, "we help God in much the same way Mr. Cook is helping us. God has all the power and all the resources, but He invites us to join Him in building His kingdom. He doesn't need our help, but He wants to bless us by allowing us to participate in the work He's doing. He will use whatever efforts we have to offer to work in people's lives and point them to the love of Jesus." -Catherine Runyon