Matthew 6:11
"Give us this day our daily bread"
I have a mulberry tree which hangs over my back fence. The berries are now ripe and the dogs love to snack on the fallen berries. They eat for a while and then go play. They stop back later, they eat some more, and then go play. I suppose if dogs had opposable thumbs it might cross their minds to gather up a big pile and bring some in for a late night snack or store some away for another day in case I forgot to feed them their morning kibble. But alas, they seemed content to just eat what they wanted from the tree and then go off to play….without worry there might not be any more berries later.
Last week I had snacked on mulberries off that tree, right there in the yard while I thought about God’s goodness and reflected on the simple joys of life. Today though, while watching the dogs eat the fallen berries, I had the grand thought of gathering and filling a BIG tasty bowl of them for myself for later. Mmmm, berries and ice cream for dinner…it’ll be so yummy! Later, when I went to wash the bowl of berries, there appeared a small spider, then another, then a little beetle looking thing, and another. I reluctantly continued washing and then tried to eat some (after all, I had worked so hard to fill that big bowl!). Nope…couldn’t do it…couldn’t get the visions of spiders and beetles out of my head.
There’s something to that “daily bread” concept God so often teaches us in His Word. As master of my dogs, it is my responsibility (without burden) to give my dogs their daily kibble meals. In fact, they wake me each morning to remind me of this task! Jesus told us in Matthew 6:11 to pray to our Father, our Good Master, this prayer: “and give us this day, our daily bread”. There is nothing wrong with asking God to this day, provide my daily bread, and then trust Him to do just that! Often though, we go far beyond this with the “more is better” mentality (like I did with the mulberries!). Or, we worry there won’t be enough for tomorrow and so we hoard. Neither is faith.
Today my dogs taught me about God. They taught me it’s ok to pray for provision and to believe for God’s blessing. They taught me to give thanks for what is given…instead of coveting what is not. They taught me to not worry for tomorrow, but to enjoy the fruit of today, for as long as it is called today. Oh, and they taught me that some things are better eaten right off the tree, right then and there, before you notice the bugs. ;-)
In Christ and covered in dog hair,
Debbie Owczarzak
"Give us this day our daily bread"
I have a mulberry tree which hangs over my back fence. The berries are now ripe and the dogs love to snack on the fallen berries. They eat for a while and then go play. They stop back later, they eat some more, and then go play. I suppose if dogs had opposable thumbs it might cross their minds to gather up a big pile and bring some in for a late night snack or store some away for another day in case I forgot to feed them their morning kibble. But alas, they seemed content to just eat what they wanted from the tree and then go off to play….without worry there might not be any more berries later.
Last week I had snacked on mulberries off that tree, right there in the yard while I thought about God’s goodness and reflected on the simple joys of life. Today though, while watching the dogs eat the fallen berries, I had the grand thought of gathering and filling a BIG tasty bowl of them for myself for later. Mmmm, berries and ice cream for dinner…it’ll be so yummy! Later, when I went to wash the bowl of berries, there appeared a small spider, then another, then a little beetle looking thing, and another. I reluctantly continued washing and then tried to eat some (after all, I had worked so hard to fill that big bowl!). Nope…couldn’t do it…couldn’t get the visions of spiders and beetles out of my head.
There’s something to that “daily bread” concept God so often teaches us in His Word. As master of my dogs, it is my responsibility (without burden) to give my dogs their daily kibble meals. In fact, they wake me each morning to remind me of this task! Jesus told us in Matthew 6:11 to pray to our Father, our Good Master, this prayer: “and give us this day, our daily bread”. There is nothing wrong with asking God to this day, provide my daily bread, and then trust Him to do just that! Often though, we go far beyond this with the “more is better” mentality (like I did with the mulberries!). Or, we worry there won’t be enough for tomorrow and so we hoard. Neither is faith.
Today my dogs taught me about God. They taught me it’s ok to pray for provision and to believe for God’s blessing. They taught me to give thanks for what is given…instead of coveting what is not. They taught me to not worry for tomorrow, but to enjoy the fruit of today, for as long as it is called today. Oh, and they taught me that some things are better eaten right off the tree, right then and there, before you notice the bugs. ;-)
In Christ and covered in dog hair,
Debbie Owczarzak
3 comments:
I love your entries! I have come to this same conclusion recently as I've been studying the Israelites in the wilderness. God showed them again and again that He would care for their daily needs. I have started to think one-day-at-a-time, instead of constantly thinking ahead. I have more peace, and way less stress. I enjoy my husband and kids more, and my dog too. Thanks for the insight.
Hi Lisa,
I know you and I are not THAT old ;-), but I do wonder if sometimes our "thinking" doesn't go full circle in life. That is, remember when we were young, we had more of a "seize the moment" attitude? We didn't spend so much energy thinking about tomorrow, but our goal was to have fun today! Now, I am not saying we need to be reckless and wild and irresponsible (to where you "pay" for today's fun with tomorrow's regrets). But just in general, it seems like people either live in the past or they live in worry of the future, and then they miss TODAY!
Thanks, Lisa, for making me think... about today. :-)
Debbie O
(Lisa, you should leave your blog address so we can all visit you too!)
It was extremely interesting for me to read this blog. Thanx for it. I like such topics and anything connected to this matter. I definitely want to read more soon.
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