Recently a friend gave me the little book When God Winks at You. The author’s
premise is that God speaks through the power of coincidence in our lives, and
that many people miss hearing the message or making the connection. The book is
a collection of stories of people who have made the connection.
Laying the little tome aside this morning, I ponder how God
has sent so many little blessings into my day along the way. I prefer to call
them blessings rather than a coincidence or wink. My friend Lois says these are
Psalm 37:4 markers of God’s presence and care in our lives:
Delight yourself in the Lord
and he will give you the desires of your heart.
I think of her and of this verse from David’s
pen whenever I experience one of these remarkable little loving gestures from
the Lord. They are affirmation to me that I’m not plugging away down a dead-end
path, but apparently the general tenor of my life is one that delights in the
Lord. We all need this kind of perk, don’t we, when we seem to muddle along or
life gets complicated? It’s a sign to me of how loving our God is and how
deeply He cares about His children.
One appliance in my stash of kitchenware has
the invisible label PSALM37:4 on its side. It came into my possession in a
quite remarkable way.
While zooming through the aisles of the
local Target one evening in late October in the late 1990’s, a display of bread
makers caught my eye. “I’d really like to get one of those! But not now, the
kids need some winter clothes. Maybe I’ll budget that in next spring.” A fleeting thought, easily dismissed and
forgotten.
One evening near Christmas my son came home
from a date with a big present in his arms. “Mom, this is for you from Kelly’s
parents.” [You know where I’m headed, but keep reading . . . it’s a great
story]. I put the present under the tree, delighted that as a single Mom, I had
something so big and elegantly wrapped to open on Christmas morning.
Bath-robed, slippered, and happy with the
kids that Christmas morning, when it was my turn to open a present, I tore the
paper off the side of the mystery box, and burst into tears. The exact bread
maker I had so wistfully, yet fleetingly eyed at Target, sat on my lap smiling
at me in its Christmas gown.
Coincidence? In my book and David’s
certainly not! I love to make bread in that little machine, and not just
because it is so tasty and makes the house smell so wonderful. Over the years,
I’ve been privileged to share bread made from that little appliance with family
and many friends, old and new. I like to think it tastes extra delicious
because of the magical way it came into my kitchen. To those who have shared
bread with me, wouldn’t you agree?
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Here’s a classic clip from Sesame Street of two dogs baking homemade bread
Here are guidelines for eating bread in a nice restaurant or formal setting. At my house, please eat it however you like (but
do pass the basket around the table!).
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| This afternoon I'm trying this recipe. Sounds yummy! |
Let Us Break Bread Together is a
beloved hymn, often sung during Holy Communion in Christian worship. Here are
several interesting settings sung by singers from around the world:
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