I've never been a fan of leftovers. Growing up, entire meals would consist of a few bites of spaghetti, cornbread, chili, hot dogs, mac and cheese, corn on the cob, and potato soup. You would take a few bites of each to make your meal and I would often wonder why we didn't just throw out the leftovers since there was only a small quantity of each item. My stomach may be filled by the assortment of food, but my heart was empty at the thought of it. I remained ungrateful for the provision, because it wasn't in the way that I had wanted it.
There are few things in life more disgusting than ungratefulness. Everyone hates the child who decries one hard earned gift for the love of another or the beggar who complains of the provided meal. This ungratefulness is not new to our Western society, nor to our modern times. One need not far to find this same attitude in the people of God in the wilderness. Out of slavery and death by the mighty hand of God, fed daily with manna by Him, this is the response of the people:
"Now the rabble that was among them had a strong craving. And the people of Israel also wept again and said, "Oh that we had meat to eat! We remember the fish we ate in Egypt that cost nothing, the cucumbers, the melons, the leeks, the onions, and the garlic. But now our strength is dried up, and there is nothing at all but this manna to look at.” Numbers 11:4-6
They were ungrateful for God's provision and they most certainly didn't want leftovers. But it seems that God views leftovers differently, and by His grace I am beginning to see them differently too. Often, God uses leftovers to show His abundant provision and clear, powerful, miraculous presence in our lives. Just read Matthew 14:13-21 to see an example of this.
Last night my wife, Lindsey, took squash from our garden, leftover chopped onions from a church function, and made a delicious squash casserole. It rivaled my grandmother's squash. She also handmade turkey meatballs, fixed sweet tea, and cornbread for us. There made so much that even after second helpings, there was plenty left over. Today for lunch, I had some of the leftovers (ok, all of it) and it was delicious. The leftovers today taught me 2 important lessons:
1) My wife loves me very much and made extra so that our family could be full and satisfied.
2) God's abundant provision is often missed when I am focused on looking for new things instead of enjoying what God has already given. His leftovers are so much better than the first fruits of the world.
