In today’s culture, we’re surrounded by messages that tell us we need more—more time, more money, more confidence, more certainty—before we can act. We postpone meaningful steps, believing we’ll show up fully once everything is in place. Hanukkah challenges that mindset. It teaches that faith is not waiting for perfect conditions, but moving forward with what’s already in our hands.

Applying this to our lives might look surprisingly simple. Maybe it’s offering a small but sincere moment of presence to someone who feels unseen, even when you feel emotionally stretched. Maybe it’s setting aside just ten minutes a day for prayer, reflection, or learning, instead of waiting for a mythical block of free time. Or perhaps it’s using a skill you consider ordinary—listening, organizing, encouraging—to serve someone else, trusting that its impact may reach far beyond what you can measure.

A practical exercise for Hanukkah: choose one area of your life where you feel “short on oil.” Name it honestly. Then ask yourself, What is one small offering I can make anyway? Commit to that step—not because it’s enough in your eyes, but because it’s real. Like the oil in the Temple, the miracle often begins only after the offering is placed where it belongs.

Hanukkah reminds us that faith doesn’t deny limitation—it hands it over. And in that act of trust, the ordinary has the potential to become extraordinary.

~Pam~

**&Picture: Pam and son Jim around 2009/10 – Teaching on Sabbath.**