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“My best friend and her daughter take a mission trip every year, and while I greatly admire the difference they make in the lives of people overseas, it has always made me feel like my efforts were useless or small. Sure, I volunteer at church, lead a small prayer group and donate a little money when we have it, but traveling and big financial gestures are difficult. I prayed for God to use me in a larger way for good, but despite my efforts, I continued to feel I just wasn’t doing enough.
“One Saturday afternoon, I threw on an old vacation Bible school T-shirt with Proverbs 3:5—Trust in the Lord with all your heart—written across the front and a light cardigan, and headed to the library with my grandson.
“As we checked out his stack of storybooks, the young librarian stared at my T-shirt. Her chin quivered and her hazel eyes welled with tears. ‘Are you okay, dear?’ I asked, surprised and slightly alarmed by her reaction.
“‘I’m going through a very hard time right now and only seconds ago I prayed to God for help and guidance,” she explained. “Then I saw your shirt…it’s as if He’s speaking directly to me.’
“I gave her a hug and my heart swelled as understanding washed over me: The Lord uses us all in different ways, none more remarkable than the other—we all have miracles to offer. Maybe it doesn’t take saving a village, I thought with a smile. All it takes is putting on clothes in the morning.” —Carla Tomy, 60, Tifton, GA