Lessons

Dear Readers,

            Two months have passed since I posted to Gloria’s and my blog.  During the third month of March, we had just been struck with the reality that COVID-19 had invaded the United States, had invaded all of our communities.  I thought of little else that week.  Actually, I think of and pray about little else now, but I am a bit more sane.  As I write this week, I don’t think I’ll write too much about food, but share a bit about my experiences during this time.

            Three weeks ago, Pope Francis spoke to the world in an empty St. Peter’s Square.  His message was based on the Scripture verses of the storm that came up in the boat in which Jesus was sleeping, and his disciples became frightened.  They woke Jesus up and said “Teacher, don’t you care if we drown?”

            Jesus calmed the storm, then turned to his disciples, “Why are you so afraid?  Do you still have no faith?” (Mark 4:35-41)

            I find myself returning to Jesus’ words over and over.  Faith, I need to have faith during this storm that has descended upon the world.

            And as I pray for faith, I also find myself praying I will learn the lessons God wants me to learn during this storm, and the following poem has evolved:

Lessons

Smaller amounts are enough--

toilet paper, clothing,

dish soap, laundry detergent

heat, electricity,

water and food.

decrease carbon footprint size.

reduce, reuse, recycle

buy only what is needed,

that others can buy what they need.

learn what is really important--

            family, friends, nature, food, water, home

appreciate God’s gifts--

            bird symphonies, greening grass, violas

            budding cherry trees, sunshine, rain,

Life is Good.

I pray each of us stay safe and well.

                                                                                                                        Sharon Witty

                                                                                                                        April 16,2020

True Hunger

It seems very true that when we are idle we tend to feel hunger - maybe not real hunger as in needing food to survive - but the kind of hunger that comes from emptiness. Maybe there are a lot of us in the same boat today. We have run short on things to do and suddenly, in our idleness, we feel hungry. So we want to eat.

With the social distancing and stay at home orders going on for at least another 30 days, some of us will experience times when we are idle and will be in danger of filling up an emptiness with junk food or unnecessary food.

One help for me is reading the Bible during idle times. I'm in the process of reading through the Bible in a year. I get a sense of accomplishment as I underline the scripture sections I have completed and move on to the next book. Prayer is another great way to spend idle time. There are many people on my prayer list these days so I spend dedicated time praying for each one several times a day.

I have a hard time identifying true hunger from emptiness. I am sure most times I eat out of an emptiness instead of true hunger. Scripture even cautions against being idle.

"An idle person will suffer hunger," (Proverbs 19:15 ESV).

The meaning cautions us from becoming lazy and idle or not working so we can't pay for our food to eat. If you are truly hungry and are without a job during these trying time, it's okay to reach out and let someone else know you are hungry. There are many churches that have food banks and other places offer meals to the needy. Reach out if you have a need. Many of us have pantries filled with food and are anxious to share.