As I stepped off the bus, a crowd of people surged forward. A woman stretched her hand out to me. Somehow, I suppressed a gasp. She had no fingers! Her outstretched hand was only a palm. Leprosy had eaten away her digits. I realized her empty palm wouldn’t be able to even grasp what might be placed there. Without fingers, she wouldn’t be able to do simple tasks, like buttoning her blouse. I couldn’t imagine how hard life must be for her.

In Ethiopia, such sights were all around us. People with missing limbs making their way on makeshift crutches. Women stooped over due to carrying heavy loads on their heads, yet still carrying jugs of water. A man without legs scooting around on his behind, his calloused fists like clubs as they served as his feet. Yet, they were all somehow making it, maybe not thriving, but surviving.

As I’ve been on this journey of life, I’ve often reflected on the fingerless lady. I realized I’m a lot like her. Perhaps not physically, but so often I am missing something important to carry out a task. Like when God first prompted me to be a foster parent, but I lacked the courage to give up another baby and yet, we did. Or when I realized my calling to advocate for children and families in foster care would require testifying at legislative committees, even though it made me weak in the knees at the very thought. Or in helping my mother die, navigating medications and her comfort while also struggling with my own emotions of her loss. Even that trip to Ethiopia, observing so many people with disabilities, caused this Montana girl to get way outside of my comfort zone and do what I’d never thought I could.

God often asks us to do something beyond our abilities, skills, or mental capacity. He even asks us to do so when we aren’t ready or prepared. Yet, He has shown over and over it isn’t about what we bring, but rather what He brings. In fact, we’re probably more effective in our voids because it keeps us humble, leaning, and dependent on God. Our only role is to be willing and available; to stand up, speak up, reach out, and present whatever we have to offer for the Lord to use as He wills, even if it feels like it's just fingerless hands.

Colossians 3:23-24 “Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ.” (ESV).