More Than Enough

This Sunday we get to hear about the feeding of the 5000 as told in Mathew's gospel. A familiar miracle story which I invite you to consider looking at it from a place of not only is there enough, often there is more than enough. A scarcity mindset is easy to have. There is not enough time,  not enough money, not enough help, not enough of whatever. It can be a default to live with a sense of scarcity and a feeling we need to hold onto whatever we have for fear of not having enough the next time. 

This week as we have our second Picnic Connections. We have set it up as an opportunity for people eat together as a way to be connected and create relationships. Relationship and connectedness is at the heart of the miracle story of the feeding of the 5000, at the heart of the way Jesus shows up as God in the flesh and at the core of this journey of following Jesus. 

Jesus knew the power of people eating together. The crowd that came out seeking healing allowed themselves to be fed. The five loaves and the two fishes was more than enough. If it It got me wondering about us now in this day and age. Where in our lives are seeking healing?Will we allow ourselves to receive the compassion of Jesus?  I wonder,  what do you need right now to be spiritually fed? 

Recently I had a conversation with a colleague in which I shared how long ago a mentor had asked me to write a list of what she called "my spiritual bank account". She invited me to write the list of what made the deposits and to write a list of what made the withdrawals. Similar to a bank account in which there are deposits like a paycheck and withdrawals like a mortgage  payment she asked what filled me up and what took from that reserve. She guided me in considering what fed me spiritually and what used up those resources. 

For more than 25 years when I am feeling like I can't quite get a grasp on why I feel so pressured or so pushed or that somehow they just isn't enough time. I've learned to pause and consider what's going on within my spiritual bank account? I write the list of what makes the deposits. Today I listed; writing in my journal, walking outside, petting the dog, drinking a good cup of coffee, breathing deeply, practicing yoga, writing a gratitude list, writing out a prayer, being in community and making connections through phone calls. 

The withdrawals these days are when I do not get good at sleep, watch the news instead of listening to it,  social media, worrying about the future and projecting doom. All of that  drains me spiritually. So to pause and write it down helps. I was reminded that  one of the surprising things even in times of feeling overwhelmed and tired is to call someone and let them know I've been thinking about them.  I did that yesterday and it really helped.

Breaking bread together: I’ve been thinking a lot this  past week about connections. When we're connected to one another, connected to what's going on inside of ourselves, connected to God- there is more balance, there is grace and usually more than enough. Today, on a full day of work I am looking forward to the Picnic Connections event a our local park . We get to break bread together, play corn hole and be in community. It helps fill my spiritual bank account.

When Jesus invited those many, many people who had ventured out into a place far from town, as they sought to be healed, he asked them to take a seat. He had healed them from the place of his deep compassion. Then he invited them to be fed and they shared a meal. They received even more than they had been seeking. Jesus took what seemed like so little; five loaves and two fish, blessed it and instructed his disciples to share it. All those gathered shared a meal with Jesus and one another. Everyone was fed. There were even leftovers. There was more than enough.