Poem: “When God Makes Bread”
When God Makes Bread
To make bread one needs:
• A mixing bowl
• The ingredients
• A mixing spoon
• And finally fire (heat)
The bowl must be appropriate for the bread.
It must be strong enough to hold the mixture,
Not too large, not too dainty.
Comfortable enough to cradle in the arm.
The ingredients are diverse
Some dry, some wet,
Some sweet, some bitter,
Each bringing something to the batter.
Untouched they would turn sour in the bowl
The mixing spoon needs a good shape to
Catch the stray particles.
It needs to be strong and comfortable
In the hand of the baker.
Heat and fire in its earliest forms
Came from brush or great trees
That had been felled and split.
They could have been great structures
Instead they became fire wood.
Now each of us at one time or another
In our journey to Christ are all of these.
We are always changing, always growing
And God uses us for His purpose.
That is if we let Him.
The mixing bowl is necessary
To contain the ingredients.
To hold things together like a family.
To sustain them with food , clothing
A place to lay their heads and tend to their needs
And all of the time you are being held
in the crook of Gods arm.
The ingredients are our life experiences and hope.
They need to be blended and balanced.
Some are so cruel and bitter as to destroy self.
Injuries, illnesses, suffering at the hand of others
Some so joyful as to bring tears
The love of another be it parent, child or spouse
The yeast of a warm heart
for others in need.
A faithfulness to bring you through the darkness
The mixing spoon
This is the hard life.
Being pushed through all number of things.
It seems there is always resistance to your efforts.
Things whirling around in your life.
There doesn’t appear to be anything going right.
But we hang on, we pray and we hope.
God is holding the spoon
and there is a purpose.
And then the batter is smooth
and life is in order again.
The spoon has done its job.
Lastly heat and fire
This is perhaps the hardest part
The lingering illnesses
Untold physical or mental suffering
Permeating whole families.
Making demands that one should not
Have to bear.
A life of I was
Or I could have been
But for this.
But hope and prayer are still strong.
The prayer of the sick and suffering
Is so selfless and powerful
It is essential to make Gods Bread
Can you see yourself in this?
Did you know that God was using you
To make bread
To feed others.
Praise God
Amen.
L. Lapiz
