Our Daily Bread

I'm late to the Gratitude Month party! But this is the column I wrote for our monthly church newsletter on the subject. Since it's finally November (plus some), I can share....

Our Daily Bread

At least once a week – without fail – we pray the Lord’s Prayer. But sometimes we get so used to praying it that we end up reciting it instead. Do we ever stop to think that we’re merely asking God to provide us our “daily bread” – our daily needs – and nothing more than that? Could we live with just what we need?

This fall, like usual, Mother Nature hit our country with a variety of tropical storms and hurricanes. And this year, at least two big ones that caused extensive flooding and damage and led to power outages and destruction of homes, business, even national treasures.

I personally am grateful I got to spend a week in the Asheville, N.C., last year – including a day at the impressive and historic Biltmore Estate – before this year’s storm put the city and an extravagant piece of history under water. You can’t take anything for granted – even after a century.

My heart goes out to the millions in the Southeast who lost what we would consider our daily bread – our necessities: Shelter, water, food, clothing, electricity, and more.

I feel blessed to be part of a church and community who immediately rallied to send aid to the victims. Semi-trucks parked around town were quickly filled with donations of water, blankets, and clothing. It’s amazing how caring and selfless we can be when responding to a crisis. 

Galatians 6:2 instructs, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Christians tend to respond to disasters by extending hands of help, offering prayers, and providing comfort to those in need. But what about the disasters that don’t make national headlines?

Each year, as the holidays approach, we get a wake-up call about the growing population of people in our own community trying to get by without their daily bread. And the many opportunities we have to band together – like we do with natural disasters – to help those suffering personal disasters.

The Red Kettle, our Charlie Brown tree, Operation Christmas Child, and more. These are evidence of the growing needs of many of our neighbors. 

Let’s enter Gratitude Month with appreciation for our daily bread and see how we can respond with faith, hope, and love to those who go without.