“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.”

2 Kings 4:2 (NKJV)

All she wanted was her butterfly to take flight.

“Honey, it can’t fly. There is no wind. See?” I pointed to motionless trees. She looked at the motionless butterfly.

All she understood was that it was meant to fly.

When I spied that multi-colored butterfly kite in the store, I envisioned laughter on blustery spring days as it swooped, dove, and swirled in the sky.

I never imagined her disappointment when her beautiful butterfly was grounded due to circumstances I could not control. When I turned away from the closet where it was stored, disappointment tugged at her hopes until her smile fell into a frown. The object of our joy became a source of sorrow that I couldn’t overcome.

In the eyes of my granddaughter, I can do some pretty amazing things. But this?!

Truth be told, I can’t recall if I prayed for wind. But out of desperation for her happiness, I do recall the idea that came to my mind another day to make her kite fly without a hint of breeze.

My son asked, “What in the world are you trying to do?”

“I’m gonna make this kite fly. Y’all just sit in the back and hold the string.”

One small key, help from my son, and gas in the John Deere Gator never united in faith for a sweeter triumph. And I definitely recall my granddaughter’s giddy expression when she followed me hopefully, despite her previous disappointment, as we set out to make her kite soar.

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Sometimes my walk with the Lord is similar to the day when the air stood still. My hope looks like that nylon butterfly hanging in the closet. I am tempted to close the door and walk away because my circumstances seem impossible to overcome.

But I have learned that God allows challenging circumstances in my life because He is wooing me to strengthen my faith in Him. His Word is filled with ways of our God making a way when there seems to be no way.

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The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” 2 Kings 4:1 (NKJV)

What seems small, almost nothing in comparison to my need, is many times where God chooses to prove His power.

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?”

“Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” 2 Kings 4:2 (NKJV)

Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.”

The hardest part of my journey of faith is obeying His lead when it doesn’t make sense. But the the woman listened and obeyed God’s instructions sent through His prophet.

She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.”

But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing.

She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” 2 Kings 4:3-7 (NKJV)

The hardest part of my journey of faith is obeying His lead when it doesn’t make sense. -Charla Matthews- #TrustGod #Faith

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In my story, the Gator ride made me the hero in my granddaughter’s eyes. But what stood out to me was the reaction of my granddaughter when I removed the kite from the closet and walked toward the door. She simply followed me in hope. She believed I would make her butterfly take flight. It’s simply a true-life story, which points me to a greater truth about hope and faith in Christ.

Multiplying the oil in the story of the widow is amazing! But it’s not the point of her story. God, and her faith in Him, is the point. Her faith was not in that “small jar of olive oil.” Her faith was in God Almighty.

Our Father is the same today as He was on the day the widow cried to Him for help.

Her story, along with many others, fosters our hope. Just consider how from billions of cries for help, He hears mine – and He hears yours. And in the spiritual sense our earthen vessels are filled with a never-ending flow of hope in Him.

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Enjoy this printable coloring page from author and creative, Cathy Baker!