Then he ordered the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and
the two fish, he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke the loaves, and gave them to the
disciples, and the disciples gave them to the crowds.
We sometimes act the same way. God comes to us continually in the person of the Holy Spirit
to guide us. As a loving Father God awaits the opportunity to meet our needs, but we are not
accustomed to receiving from God's loving hand. Nor does it occur to us to pray. So we wander
blindly from problem to problem, a sort of picture of those early settlers who starved in a land of
plenty.
"Make the people sit down," Jesus commanded his disciples. Then he took the loaves, and when
he had given thanks, he distributed these loaves and these fish to all who were seated, as much
as they wanted. So also do we receive God's blessings when we sit and wait and when we
receive what God has to offer.
(Matthew 14.19
NRSV)
Sometimes we are simply blind to God's wondrous bounty. We are like the tragic residents of
one of America's first villages. During the winter of 1610, the population of Jamestown went from
about 500 people to about 60. While disease and Indians took some, most of the settlers simply
starved. There were plentiful supplies of fish, oysters, frogs, fowl, and deer; but these settlers
from the city were not accustomed to obtaining food from the land. Hence, they starved!
Dear God, help me to take time to receive your blessings. Amen.