Button Soup

Last night Brady brought me a book and asked me to read to him before bed. He has always been a lover of books. The book he gave me was "Button Soup." If you have never read it, I highly suggest that you do. It had been a while since we had read this particular book and it hit me like a ton of bricks. Here goes a little synopsis of the story. One day a little girl and her grandfather were walking out of the grocery store carrying two large bags overflowing with food. A homeless woman named Rag-Tag Meg was walking by and asked them if they had anything because she was hungry. The grandfather said,"No," and they walked away. The little girl was so sad because she knew they had something and this woman had nothing. A bit later the little girl was looking out her window and she saw Rag-Tag Meg walking down the street. She excused herself and ran outside to catch up with Meg. Just moments after they began walking Meg hollered out with excitement as she reached down to pick up an old button. It was as if she had discovered a piece of gold. They found a rusty pot in a junk pile and immediately went to work building a fire and adding water to the pot. The little girl was confused but she was having fun. All of the sudden the homeless woman began singing aloud that they were making button soup. She invited everyone who was hungry to come and partake. People around them laughed and sneered at her. All they could see was a boiling pot of water and an old wooden button. The little girl defended her as best as she could but the laughing continued. Now Button Soup was a crazy idea but the little girl said parsley and dill would sure go good in this soup. Another child overheard this and said, "I've got those herbs." And she ran home and returned with a handful of beautiful greens. They added them to the pot and the bubbling and aroma began. One by one, passerbyers brought something to the pot. One boy brought some onions, one a carrot and a store owner offered some dumplings. Before long the smell from this amazing soup was drawing a crowd. The little girl remembered the chicken her and her grandfather had bought earlier in the day. She raced home grabbing the chicken and her grandfather and then back to the soup they went. The final ingredient was added before the soup was complete. The store owner that brought the noodles came back with bowls and a ladle. Rag-Tag Meg served everyone including the ones who had laughed at her. It was a feast that even allowed for seconds and thirds. When they got down to the last bit of soup, Meg retrieved the wooden button at the bottom of the pot. She kissed it and threw it high up in the air. The little girl picked it up as soon as it landed and kept it for herself. She never forgot that amazing day or the amazing woman who took a wooden button and turned nothing into something.

Okay so what does it mean. In a nutshell here is my opinion. 1- Your something can make someones nothing something. Think about that. What you have can allow someone with nothing to have something. 2- If you have nothing, don't give up. Remain positive and work with what is in front of you. 3- Don't discourage someone with a "crazy" dream. Be an encourager because with God all things are possible. 4- If Pastor Ty has said it once, he has said it a million times. If everyone does a little, no one has to do a lot. 5- When we work together we can always do more. That day Meg didn't just eat a bowl of soup but she even had thirds. Those around her had seconds. 6- There may come a day that you are asked to serve those who don't deserve it. Will you be willing? Meg was.

My advice for today is to keep your eyes open. What is right before you? Who needs you? When we walk with our eyes open, an old wooden button can be more valuable than gold.