I was already thinking about the bag of pretzels and the cream cheese in the back of my car before I pulled out of camp (a 4-day time for me to help others in a closer walk with Jesus on a Walk to Emmaus weekend). And the cream cheese and chocolate snacks called to me more and more as I drove one friend then another friend home. The chocolate was eaten well before I left the back roads, and satisfyingly wanted as we left utopia-like situations back to the real world. Chocolate would have melted anyway, best to partake fast!

The back to reality wasn’t tough on my car or my life, but mentally tough on me for those first few hours, just not getting where I WANTED to go, especially the thought of back tracking my path driving adding an extra hour, IT WAS TOUGH until the last dropped-off friend reminded me about the truthful generous aspect of life with others in Christian living that lends itself into a saying that I on occasion hear: ‘it is about one beggar telling another beggar where to find bread‘.  Ah, yes, I had lost a bit of that bread-hunger-FOCUS in my crush of reality after a dreamy 72hour weekend filled with God in action, where my cup runneth over. I was then the beggar begetting anger until I remembered GRACE and not throwing away my peace. It was a reminder in reality to RE-know to thirst for the SPIRIT influx, be satisfied with my blessings, stop selfishness,  and return to SELFLESSNESS. “MY GRACE IS ENOUGH” God says over my thorns… YUP..  

The cream cheese and my frustration waited, I started counting my blessings instead. Especially counting blessings when I saw a car accident that I WASN’T in. Oh those fire trucks, ambulance, and the crushed car in front of me along the second highway. Reality check. Life is precarious at those fast speeds, cars too. Slowdown the harried hurry. Put the peace pursuit back in.

72 hours I had slowed down, with practically no worries, no phone, no car, no hassle, no worries… a life in agape grace… but now was time for re-entering the world… whew…

I wasn’t concerned about home, except for thinking I needed to GET THERE. My son’s concern, texted to me, was that the cat missed me, and birds had pooped on his new car,  hmmm… Not a crisis… “did I have car wash tokens?” No… So it was not like anyone was desperate for me. Yes the cat is SO HAPPY now, on my feet as I write this, and I have recouped much sleep – but then I was lacking that sleep. And I always drive drive drive but life back on the road is not the camp life that only a few hours earlier that had me so relaxed that I worried about nothing.

The CRUSH OF REALITY became me reaching for that chocolate first and pretzels next with the dream of cream cheese – but the best reach (and re-reach) was for the bread of sharing in common Jesus moments, trying to understand how I had the break but now was back in the hassle of the hustle SO QUICKLY. And as I got slightly stuck in traffic, I was reminded that God’s Timing sometimes makes us accepting long hauls. It was OK, I was OK. I calmed my soul and my gas pedal. 

First friend dropped off, then an hour later the second friend got her stuff out of the car and said, ‘oh I have all this bread, I don’t know why they gave it away to me’ – I replied “oh I’ll take it – I’ll take it to work-they eat anything” as I had taken other items myself for work, like skittles and the bagels and cream cheese to reduce the ‘burden’ of excess after camp. WELL, I paused in my pain of reality crush driving when I saw that she handed me 2 loaves of what would have been communion bread, EXTRA… the friend, a spirit-filled soul, stated that clear message: ‘hey, it’s like a beggar telling a beggar where to find bread’… Oh yeah, it’s like continually thirsty for the Lord over the world. Yeah, my spirit cup refilled like my gas tank – I grabbed the cream cheese and my thankfulness and headed home in silence, except for a praise song repopulating my head… “Jesus Jesus, can I tell You how I feel? You have given me Your Spirit, I love You so…”

We MUST see the BREAD of Life over the dread of life. We must feel the Grace over the rat race. We must sacrifice our sure desire to serve ourselves, and serve others – be the Jesus was want to be even to the point of painful gifting – and be doling out God’s grace in the world, knowing how we are OK, thorns and all, applying Grace to ourselves too. We have been preveniently loved and we will be OK.

I recounted my blessings of having the ability to drive, a full tank of gas, and the cream cheese now in my hands with gifted pretzels too… prevenient snacking fuel on the last 45 minutes home… prevenient Cream Cheese and forever THANKFULNESS for God on the journey… whew…

Keep moving… rest… let us get up and do this life journey in the real world again… and share that bread, with all the beggars out there…

Amen and Amen