bread...

I was really inspired over this last weekend by my brother and father. My family used to work in concrete construction and when I was a boy my parents worked part time as caretakers for grave yards. A little over a month ago, my brother's newborn son, Joshua, died. They decided to bury him in the graveyard next to my grandparent's home in Michigan. This last Friday my brother and father went and poured the concrete foundation for Joshua's tombstone. I think this was a very therapeutic next step for them in their grieving process. After finishing what was no doubt, a very emotional experience, they both got in their vehicles headed towards Mishawaka to deliver 280 loaves of bread to needy families. Despite the fresh pain and grief that they were experiencing that day, they chose to turn their focus outwards - towards helping others. One man that they encountered mentioned to my brother how much this meant to him as my brother shared God's love for him. This man was a father who had just moved into the area with his 5 kids. They don't have food stamps and they've been living off of Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwiches. They had just run out of bread and were wondering what they were going to do. I'm reminded that no matter what season we are in, no matter what storms we are going through, God still longs to use us in significant ways if we will allow Him to help us fix our eyes on others. It's absolutely important to grieve, to work through our stuff and to give it to God. And yet some of the most powerful times are when we allow God to use us despite our pain, suffering and heart ache. It's in those times that we don't have the strength or the power to do it on our own so we have to rely on Him.

Yesterday I had the awesome privilege to help deliver 600 loaves of bread with my 3 year old daughter along with other families and individuals from Epic. It was pretty cool for me to see the excitement of my daughter as she wanted to help carry the bread and help knock on doors. I love it that she gets opportunities to see the "real world" and she's learning at a young age to take her eyes off of herself and begin looking towards making a difference in the lives of others. I wish I would have started doing that at age 3 instead of 33. It was really cool to see her process and ask questions along with making observations of the different people and homes we would encounter. I'm grateful for Kim Selis who coordinates our Outreach Ministry at our church and the hearts of many within Epic that help make these learning moments happen for both my daughter and I.

As we were handing out the bread and sharing God's love, I couldn't help but to be reminded of the communion time that we often celebrate at our worship gatherings at Epic. I began to reflect on Jesus fixing His eyes on others and how the bread at our communion tables represent Christ's body which was broken. In the midst of His brokenness He fixed His eyes on us and what a difference it made!