A mixer, spatula, cookie sheets, an oven, and oven mitts are the tools of my unusual trade. I make a scrumptious Snickerdoodle cookie. I never imagined making cookies and a mess in my kitchen would springboard me into ministry!
Have you ever thought “God won’t want to or can’t use me because I am just a(n) _________?” Fill in the blank: housewife, mother, nobody, grandmother, screw-up, ordinary, and inadequate person (add your own).
Like Moses, most days I feel unworthy and unqualified to be called by God. But what has God put in my hands? Thankfully, it’s not a staff to turn into a snake! (Exodus 4:2)
You see, I have partnered with an anti-trafficking ministry to serve those who have an orphaned spirit. Outreach teams distribute over 7,000 free cookies annually. Each bag contains two cookies with a note “from Jesus” and contact information, including an emergency phone number, to those working in brothels and strip clubs, many of whom are victims of trafficking.
Most of the cookie bag recipients feel abandoned and used by family and so-called friends. Some have never experienced unconditional love or had someone make something homemade just for them.
The teams have been giving out cookies and offering to pray at the same establishments for nine years. Being consistent has helped develop relationships of trust and respect.
I will not know this side of heaven how many people were impacted by my cookies. God works in the unseen using what I think is insignificant to spread His love. We are ordinary grandmothers, mothers, lovers of God being the hands and feet of Jesus on this earth.
So often, we think of a ministry field being hundreds of people in a foreign land. However, we need to be mission conscious in our own land. Our ministry may be to just one or one hundred. If we are obedient when God calls us out of our comfort zone, He will give us what we need and work where we cannot see.
What has God placed in your hands? Look at it from a new perspective. Each of us has a unique Kingdom purpose. God uses the ordinary, unpolished, imperfect person every day. What seems meaningless to us, God uses for His purposes.
We may not see the immediate results of returning a shopping cart for someone, greeting a stranger with a smile and “hello”, or helping a harried mom get through the doorway with a stroller and children in tow. But I guarantee God uses those acts of kindness for Kingdom purposes. Therefore, may we be good stewards of what He has placed in our hands.
About the Guest Author:
Not one to sit still, Linda Grim has had numerous careers, from selling shoes, aerobics instructor, Nuclear Marine Electrician, to Interior Designer, and more. She believes learning keeps her young and God keeps her joyful. Married 34 years, she and Bill have two adult daughters, one son-in-law, and one grandson. She enjoys playing the piano, going to the gym, reading, counted cross stitch, and crocheting. Currently, she serves with a local interfaith women’s ministry and The Ark Bakery and Café, an anti-human trafficking 501c3.
