This post was written Sunday night before the severe weather of the week. Let us remember those in Oklahoma who lost loved ones, and those working to clear the rubble. Take a moment to lift their hearts before the Lord before reading today's post.
Give us this day our daily bread.
by permission: www.freedigitalphotos.net
It's part of the Lord's prayer I learned to recite as a child.
The Love Fleet of vehicles is down by one and a half cars. With a daughter in college and our son nearly there, the budget is feeling the freak-out stage. Our son's Green Machine Honda is out of commission and waiting to be replaced. Friday morning I was so glad to lend him his sister's purple Honda Civic--her name is Sylvia. At this point he didn't even care that it's
purple, when six months ago he'd not have been caught dead driving a purple car. But apparently it's better than a yellow bus!
Then it happened. He calls me from the drive way. "Mom can you come out here?"
My first thought was great, he backed into Bessie the van. But he looked at me with pleading eyes, and said, "The PRNDL is stuck." (If you've never watched Lizzie McGuire that's Park-Reverse-Neutral-Drive-Low, otherwise known as London's "prindle"--duh).
My first thought was great, I'm in my P. J.'s and I have to drive him to school, and I'll be late for work.
My second thought was great what's this going to cost?
This morning on the way to church, all four of us piled into Bessie, my Oddessey with 236,600 miles on her (yes we speak nicely to her). I'm nostalgically reminded of all the days Bessie has seen us through. All the tears, quick trips, pit stops, fast food runs, practices, bickering, and oh so wonderful conversations to and from church and other places. I was reminded of how fleeting those moments are, and how wonderfully our God has provided for our needs.
As I read the Sunday lesson aloud to my husband, and the kids listened in from the back seat--one half plugged into his iPod, the other joining in the discussion--we somehow got onto trusting God to provide for our needs. I'd love nothing more than to have that shiny sky blue Honda I saw last week sitting on a lot. I want to call her Robin Egg. I told Ted that Robin had screamed my name. She didn't even have rust or a dent to match Bessie's (sorry Bessie--not kicking a gift horse here).
Because if I had a spankin' new car, I'd really put my trust in her. I'm pretty certain Robin wouldn't break down. I'm pretty certain her PRNDL wouldn't get stuck in P. Pretty certain. But I heard my mouth telling our children that we are trusting God to provide and somehow in five years, ten years, fifteen--we won't look back and break our arms patting ourselves on our own backs to brag how
we'd made it all happen. No, I said. We'll be telling how
God provided daily bread. Like manna in the wilderness. Because it's faith. Strange how each morning the Children of Israel had to gather fresh manna. It was a daily dependence. Because that's how faith is--it's daily.
Too often we are tempted to become grumblers just like the Children of Israel who demanded meat. You know--they wanted T-bone steak, easy street, and some A-1 steak sauce with that please! Yes, I'm tempted to make a rash decision and drive home a spankin' new Honda to replace Bessie. I mean what were those silly Israelites thinking? You'd think they would have gathered more manna than they needed and saved up to trade it in for something better right? But God supplied only enough for one day and if they kept it longer, it only spoiled. Manna was God's nourishment in the wilderness while they wondered for forty years. No offense, but I don't think Bessie will live that long (but like I said, not kicking the gift horse).
Face it. We can either grumble, eat spoiled manna, or embrace the daily bread and learn to trust God one day at a time.
Tomorrow we take Sylvia in to get her PRNDL looked at.
I'm praying for daily bread--just enough from my Lord Jesus Christ to get through tomorrow.
Because it's Jesus who showed us the true meaning of manna, and taught us to pray.
Give us this day our daily bread....
"Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, 'He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'" Jesus then said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world." (John 6:31-33 RSV)
Besides, God has a sense of humor. Because every morning when I get up, I never know which piece of manna will be running for the day--or how much stink the spoiled left overs will have. Ain't it a grand adventure?
How do you live with the tension of "enough" and "too much"?
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Blog post by Anne Love-
Writer of Historical Romance inspired by her family roots.
Nurse Practitioner by day.
Wife, mother, writer by night.
Coffee drinker--any time.
Jaime Wright
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