I sat in the village on a worn woven mat beneath two looming trees that offered shade from the hot summer sun. Women sat beside me, feeding their babies and holding squirming toddlers while we worshiped and prayed together. As my husband began teaching, I noticed a mass of tiny red ants next to the mat. They were swarming around a hole, no more than half a centimeter in diameter, carrying a white feather.
I was intrigued by what they were trying to do, and it didn’t take long to realize that they were attempting to drag the six-centimeter long feather, far bigger than the hole and certainly bigger than the tiny ants, into the hole. They pushed and prodded, working together in typical ant fashion, until finally, after twenty minutes or so, what seemed to have been impossible, happened. The last of the feather disappeared into the hole along with the swarm of ants.
By working together, they had accomplished the impossible.
Earlier that morning, before worship had begun, several of us had walked across the village’s sandy soil to check on a young mother and her newborn twins. We had brought with us a box of food and a large can of formula because she wasn’t producing enough milk. We shared with her that this gift of food—along with the many prayers being lifted up for her family—was coming from people from all over the world, including a small church in town who gave out of their own contribution.
I wanted them to see that God calls us to work together as Christians to help those in need.
It was a love for Christ that compelled individuals from Brazil, the United States, South Africa, and Mozambique to give financially as well as to pray for a mother they’d never met.
Just like the ants and the feather, dozens of individuals rallied together behind this family, to do for this mother what would have been impossible on her own.
Sometimes I see the task around me as overwhelming. I see so many hurting people—homeless, jobless, physically hungry, sick, and spiritually empty that I wonder if it’s possible to make a dent. But what seems impossible for us is suddenly made possible when we let God move in us.
Possible when we let Him use us for his purpose.
Possible when we work together.
This is how we can change the world one person at a time. For me, the feather and the ant continues to be a powerful reminder that every life does matter, and that with God all things are possible.
For nothing is impossible with God. – Luke 1:37
Be a blessing today,
Lisa Harris
Lisa Harris and her family have spent over ten years living as missionaries in Mozambique where she writes romantic suspense, leads a women’s group, and runs a non-profit organization that works alongside their church-planting ministry to provide for people’s physical needs. When she’s not working she loves hanging out with her family, cooking different ethnic dishes, photography, and heading into the African bush on safari.
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