I’ll Take 5 Loaves and 2 Fish to Go, Please

I'm falling behind sharing my Sunday church bulletin columns. This was actually from July 29, when the gospel lesson was the feeding of 5,000.

I’ll take five loaves and two fish to go, please

Anyone who’s a mom can identify with the miracle of Jesus feeding the multitude. Even making a meal for just two others can seem like a crowd of 5,000 demanding: “What’s for supper?” and “When are we gonna eat?” Don’t get me started on the extras who show up at dinner with no time to run to the store for more. That’s when we stretch the five loaves and two fish!

I don’t know how my mom did it with eight of us kids. Granted, by the time my twin and I were old enough to eat something besides those disgusting Gerber prunes, my oldest sister was off to college. So, there were only seven mouths to feed. On a very limited budget. Can you say pancakes for supper? Works for me.

The thing is, we didn’t go hungry. Trust me. Even on liver and onion nights we had to sit at the table until our plates were clean. (Cue gag reflex.) We were all members of the Clean Plate Club – and years of yo-yo dieting are proof that the habit stuck with me.

There’s a fine line between having enough and having too much.

I was astonished during my trip to Sweden that they don’t serve dessert after every meal. We Americans would sit there after a delicious dinner and wait. We might be full, but we’d make room for dessert. Imagine our disappointment when the server would come out and let us know there was coffee… for dessert? How would we survive?

I’ll tell you how: Ice cream. Pretty much every place of business – including gas stations – sold ice cream or gelato or both. Definitely my homeland! Of course, we didn’t need it. Weren’t hungry. Just wanted it. And stepping on the scale when I got home confirmed that.

I was reminded of those wise words: Happiness is not having what you want, but wanting what you have. And being thankful for it!

Jesus was onto something when he broke those few loaves of bread and told the disciples “give thanks.” We are to be grateful for what we receive – because it is enough. In other words, if a meal nourishes us, we don’t need dessert. As my mom would say, “You’ll be grateful for what I made and you’ll eat it!”

The next time you race through the Lord’s Prayer, slow down and think about what you’re saying. We’re asking God for our “daily bread.” Not five loaves and two fish to go. Maybe just one slice will do today. Jesus knows what we need. We won’t go away hungry.