Our stewardship prayer says your love is bringing cool water to everyone who is thirsty and speaks of manna for the hungry. We all have noticed how much better cool water tastes when we are hot and thirsty; how much better food tastes when we are hungry. Yet, for me water and food are so plentiful I rarely experience hunger and thirst. In fact, carrying around water bottles most of the time seems normal rather than an oddity.
But, not so in our bigger world. The news this week includes:
“Disease and hunger rival bombs and gunfire as the biggest dangers to ordinary people” (in Yemen). Washington Post
“Homeless man living under the bridge at Plaster Creek on Madison seen daily by this walker/runner.”
“Residents of Flint, Rockford, and Oscoda nervous about whether their water is safe to drink.”
Many people live without knowing whether they have safe water and enough food to eat. So, do we give out of guilt? Heaven forbid. We give out of our abundance. We give in trust that our own needs will be met. We give in gratitude for what we have been given. We give because we know and love the Giver.