Give us today our daily bread.
“Do you think we should have some snacks and small treats for the people who are bringing us food? A way to say thank you?”
My husband and I are both used to doing. To being the ones who offer help. To making sure others have what they need. To being the ones who organize and collect and offer support.
We’re doers and helpers and pastors. It comes naturally to us. It’s easy. It’s what we do.
What’s not easy is being on the receiving end of such gifts.
What’s not easy is simply receiving.
What’s not easy is saying thank you and letting that be our final words.
We recently celebrated the birth of our son. The young adults at our church gifted us with food which was delivered to our home throughout the first weeks of his life. Many of them have their own children and know what it’s like to welcome a newborn into their home. Every few days another family would come by and drop off a full meal for our family.
Pure gifts.
Delicious food.
Love.
Hospitality.
Grace and food for the journey.
For several weeks they literally fed our bodies, spirits, and souls. In the fog of sleep deprivation and running around after our toddler, in the cycle of feedings, in the flood of emotions and hormones, a homemade meal fed us in more ways than just our stomachs.
Prior to our son’s birth my husband had made the suggestion that having snacks for the families who brought food would be a nice idea, but ultimately we decided that in this time in our lives we would simply and graciously receive the gifts.
We would take the food and say thank you.
We would break the bread given to us remembering the full gifts and communion found in the Body of Christ.
In essence we would practice what we preach: that we are called to care for our neighbors. And sometimes those neighbors are us.
So with each meal given and shared, we are the ones learning.
Gratitude.
Hospitality.
The power of community.
Humility.
Kimberly Knowle-Zeller is an ordained ELCA pastor, mother of two, and spouse of an ELCA pastor. She lives with her family in Cole Camp, MO. Her website is http://www.kimberlyknowlezeller.com
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