Daily bread

"Give us day by day our daily bread." Luke 11:3

Good morning, ladies!

When we were last in the U.S., many times we were asked the question, "What things do you miss from the U.S.?" Usually I could think of a few things to satisfy the curious:  Chick-Fil-A, Reese's Cups, chewing gum that doesn't lose its flavor right away.  (I happen to be a recovering chewing gum addict--don't judge.)

Once in a while, someone would ask me what things we miss from France while we're travelling in the U.S.

I don't have to think.  I don't even have to bat an eyelash.  I don't have to pray about it, or run my answer by my husband first.

I know.

Bread.

Ladies living in the U.S., you have my sympathies.  Don't get me wrong, I enjoy yeast rolls, biscuits, and Texas toast as much as the next person, but bread, a nice crusty loaf, soft and delicate on the inside, still warm from the bakery, served with real butter and a cup of strong coffee...

(Insert sigh of satisfaction here.)

Before living outside the U.S., I didn't realize so much the importance of getting my bread daily.  Here in France it's almost a pilgrimage.  Every morning, every noon, every night, French people flock to their bakeries in search of a baguette (the long skinny French loaves that have nothing to do with American French bread), or a pain de campagne--a larger baguette--or a pain à 6 céréales--six grain bread.  While most stores here are closed on Sundays, most villages have at least ONE bakery open to serve the stomachs of their fellow bread-lovers.

My son Joshua,
 reading this completed blog,
eating, of course, some bread.

My youngest son Joshua shares my love of French bread.  He could (and would, if we let him) eat a whole baguette by himself.  Bread doesn't usually last long in our house.  Occasionally, however, the bread does make it to the next day, but it's not the same.  Exposed to the air, or wrapped in its bag, unless it's stored in the freezer, a baguette can turn from glorious manna to an inedible baseball bat.  It's on those occasions that my son, looking longingly at the leftover bread, asks, "Mom, is the bread still good?"

Is it?

I think about Jesus teaching His disciples to pray, reminding them to ask day by day for their bread from God's hand.  Of course, to Jewish readers, the connection is clear:  the manna that God provided in the wilderness, to sustain and feed His people as they travelled to the promised land, was only good for one day at a time.  In order to eat, the children of Israel had to gather manna every day. 

It's true that God's Word sustains me, just as much as physical bread sustains me.  And yes, I could go for a day without reading His Word.  I could try to let the words that I have read in the past week, or in the past month, or even in the past years, sustain me for today.  

But, why would I?

Why would I content myself to gnaw through a loaf of stale bread, when just a ten-minute walk from my house, the baker has been stockpiling loaf after loaf of freshly-baked bread?  It could be mine, just for the taking, if I only make the effort to go and get it.

God's Word is also right there, as fresh as the day it was written, waiting for me to open its pages and lose myself in its truths.

I think it's time for some fresh bread...and a fresh look at God's Word.