Get up and eat

“Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you” (1 Kings 19:7).

We live in a place where the bread truck doesn’t come.
If it does, it does so disagreeably.
They say, “You’re too far west, too small, not worth our time.”
Ironic, isn’t it?

The fields of grain that surround us here,
The fields of grain that hold our deepest hopes and fears,
Are the very fields that feed the world.
Bread for all, but none for us. Not delivered anyway.

Could it really be that we’re too far west, too small, not worth their time?
Could it be that no one cares about our future?
Could it be that this way of life is dying?
Could it be that bread is never coming?

If so, I don’t know what I will do.

But we will walk this road together.
We will lift up one another.
We will gather at the “eating” church.
We will get up and eat.

Otherwise the journey will be too much for us.

Gathered round the table, together …
Tasting bread and wine, together …
Raising our voices in prayer, together …
We will be strengthened, together.

The bread company may say we’re too far west, too small, not worth their time,
But there is someone who cares about our future.
There is someone who brings life out of death.
There is someone who is the bread that is coming, and has come,
and will continue to come forever.

Delivered.
To our doorstep.
Delivered.
To our hearts.

He is here.
Get up and eat, otherwise the journey will be too much for you.

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Read these articles at our front page > > >

Today through August 7, join Rochelle Melander (right) to discuss the ministry of presence, especially with children.

Melander says: "Even though I’m a pastor, I’m challenged by the suffering and loneliness of hospitals and care facilities. I worried how Elly would handle the experience. Would she be afraid of the residents? Could she cope with the smells? How would she behave?"

Melander's concerns were unfounded and she discovers the joy that simply being in the presence of others brings both to visitors and those visited.

Consider reading "When Elly comes to visit" and "10 tips for making visits with children" before joining in.

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Sonia Solomonson blogs about new findings on homelessness.

Andrea Pohlmann (right) asks whether you're a hugger or a shaker.

Liz Hunter challenges readers to try to live on $1 a meal.

Kathy Kastilahn blogs about teen drinking and parents who allow it.

Julie Sevig writes about a 7-year-old who's wild about church.

Check out our blog > > >

We at The Lutheran think it’s important to nurture the faith of the little ones in our midst. We developed The Little Lutheran for toddlers age 6 and younger to help them learn about God’s love for them and the world in which they live. We want them to know Jesus as friend and savior too.

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