~for daily bread/for those whose bellies are not~

I just pulled a loaf of homemade bread out of the oven and after buttering it, I stood back to take a look at my creation.  It looked good to me with a golden crust and even though perhaps it wouldn't have brought home any blue ribbons from the Reno County Fair, for a girl who never took home economics in high school it wasn't all that bad.

One of the amazing miracles that has come forth during this time of Covid 19 is that I finally at long last learned how to make bread.  At first it wasn't because I just had this burning desire to mix up dough and watch it rise.  No, it was because one day Mike and I walked into the grocery store and the entire bread section had been wiped out by panicked shoppers who feared there wouldn't be enough bread to go around for all who wanted it.  Nothing at all remained that day to purchase from the north side of Aisle 18.  I decided then that it was time to take matters into my own hands, literally.

And so I did.

I learned to make bread.

At this moment in time, our cupboards are full and the pantry is sufficiently stocked as well.  There was yeast in the container, flour in the bin, sugar and salt on the countertop, and butter in the refrigerator.  I lacked nothing, well save for a bit of patience, in order to make a loaf of bread that will last two people the better part of several days.  

And for that, I consider myself most blessed.

The lack of food, or food insecurity as it is called now, is a rapidly growing and ever present problem in these days of living and sadly for so many, dying with the virus.  You can call it what you want, but the truth is people are going hungry in greater numbers than ever before.  The lines that form, made up of hundreds and hundreds of cars filled with those in great need, seem to go on forever.  Yesterday I had the luxury of baking a loaf of bread and how easy it ended up being.  And while I was in our kitchen here on the Oklahoma prairie impatiently waiting for it to come out of the oven, family after family across America was faced with the task of trying to decide how to divide up what little food remained in their own.

So on this, the second day after Thanksgiving, I still give thanks.  I know that any of us, ALL of us, are merely one paycheck away from finding ourselves all too familiar with the term  food insecurity.  By God's grace, the bellies in this household are full today.  

May we always remember and never forget those whose bellies are not.