“And a man of the house of Levi went and took as wife a daughter of Levi. [1]So the woman conceived and bore a son. And when she saw that he was a beautiful child, she hid him three months. But when she could no longer hide him, she took an ark of bulrushes for him, daubed it with asphalt and pitch, put the child in it, and laid it in the reeds by the river’s bank. And his sister stood afar off, to know what would be done to him.” ~Exodus 2:1-4

I wonder if Miriam thought back on this day as she watched her grown brother lead thousands of former slaves out of Egypt. Did she realize that by her willingness to look out for his well being, Moses survived in order to become the deliverer that they had been praying for? God could have used anyone, but Miriam was as much a part of this story as her mother and the Egyptian princess who adopted the boy.

Scripture doesn’t say how old Miriam was when she was looking out for her baby brother, but Aaron was three years old at the time, so I expect that Miriam was somewhere between six and eight when this took place. I wonder if she ever walked by the palace, hoping for just a glimpse of her brother to ensure that he was doing well. Maybe she brought him cookies, resulting in rumors that a Hebrew girl had a crush on the young Egyptian prince. We don’t know what his young life was like, whether or not he knew that he was really a Hebrew, when his Egyptian mother passed away, or why she couldn’t protect him when Pharaoh wanted to kill him. Apparently, none of that is important. But we do know that his sister watched out for him while he was floating on the river in a basket.

Minor details like this are often overlooked, but I think it’s significant. Everyone has a part to play. Everyone was created for a purpose. Many do not fulfill that purpose, but it doesn’t change the fact that they have one.

Maybe you have “made it” which has you confident that you are right where God’s called you to be. I would, first of all, say that is not the litmus test but, if you are, praise God for it. However, if you are a behind-the-scenes person who never gets any notoriety, thank the Lord that He sees you. Maybe you’re a wife who prays for your husband as he ministers to others. Your prayers are no doubt what sustains him and strengthens him to be effective. That is not a small task. You might be a grandma watching your grandchildren while your son or daughter works. Your influence is not minor. If you run sound for your church, that is a huge blessing to those who are on stage. Little is truly much when God is in it. If he’s not, then all of the world’s accolades mean nothing.

If you are feeling insignificant, ask God to show you how you are serving Him in your daily life. It’s good to keep seeking Him to know how to better serve Him and impact more people for His Kingdom, but you may find that He is using you more than you realized.

In closing, I would like to share something that is unrelated to this post, but I feel like someone may need to hear it. A lot of people have been hit hard financially this year. If you are one who knows what I’m talking about, you may be dreading Christmas due to not being able to buy as many gifts as you usually do for your children or grandchildren. In case you need to be reminded, Christmas is not about tangible gifts. I love to buy gifts for my family, but if I couldn’t do that, I hope they know how much I love them anyway. Focus more on spending time together. Play games or watch a movie. Sit around and talk while you drink hot chocolate. These are the things that will most often be remembered anyway.

God bless you all!