A PANTRY OF PURPOSE
The other morning as I was
reaching into my food pantry, I noticed that the items it contained were
crowded and acting somewhat OCD, began re-arranging them. There was much I had to do that day, and
really didn’t have time to be sorting out dried goods. As I rushed to complete the task, I was
jolted to remember a time when I had nothing to put in the pantry, fridge,
or even my own stomach.
There were days when I was a
young adult barely making it with small children in tow not knowing how we were
going to eat. On other days, we were
blessed to live off a bag of potatoes for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Cereal was served without milk, bread with no
butter, beans with no tortillas, and eggs with no salt.
I wasn’t exactly the most resourceful chef or
shopper back then. I didn’t know how to
cook, I wasn’t capable of bringing together a few items to make an appealing
dish out of nothing. There were weeks
where I had a choice of either paying a light bill, or feeding my babies. Would our water stay on or would we have to
buy more diapers? There were no
guarantees. I stood in the long lines of food pantries, welfare offices, humiliated and treated as a second class citizen in most of those instances, despite the fact I had graduated Salutatorian, and voted most likely to succeed.
Always being interrogated on whether or not I had attended church or
believed in God, as if to say, I didn’t because of my living situation. It bothered me so. Sometimes I was forced to watch a video about
religion before I could grab my donated stale bread, and goods and feed my hungry children. Other times, I had to enter a
room and be prayed for by a group of people who sent me on my way with no real
help, or answers to get me out of my situation.
James 2:14-18 ESV
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.
My children were living off of mac and
cheese, bologna, and Ramen Noodle most the time, and that was on a good week. There were times when I had to chose not to eat so that my children could, going to bed with an aching gut unable to sleep.
That morning I stood overwhelmed in front of my pantry. I began to thank God as tears streamed, thinking of where He had brought me
from. I was ever so grateful at how my
children and I had survived to this day...to where none of us have to experience
hunger, or eat stale goods, and giveaways no one wants. We don’t have to be rejected and treated like
second-class citizens or be looked upon as failures due to our
circumstances. “Lord, thank you!” I said.
I took a second glance around my tiny home, cluttered with furniture, kids’
shoes,
and jackets hung over here and there, mud
marks from dogs and cats tracking in and out,
chunks of clay dirt trailing off of hubby’s
work boots, dust bunnies in corners growing in numbers, and noticed something different.
I saw the gift. The untidy package of a life that has been
blessed beyond measure. It didn’t matter
that my floors weren’t sparkling with Mr. Clean, or that the jackets weren’t hung
neatly in a closet. The items I stumble
over sometimes left by my children, no longer bothered me.
God made me realize that these were all signs
of life. A child’s life, a dog’s life, and yes even a
cat’s life, life with a family that
God has greatly blessed me with and provided for.
The person wearing those muddy work
boots, have dangerously climbed excruciating heights 100's of times before dawn and sometimes working through the night.
The man in those muddy boots have walked for 1,000's of miles over the last 20 or more years to provide a home, food,
and a life together. They boldly walked even when there were times the walking was nearly impossible, the
climb too difficult, and wearing so painful, it was a sign of provision, God's provision in difficult times.
Those paw prints have left imprints on the
hearts of our family as they greet us each morning, and snuggle up to sleep at
night.
The dust bunnies were evidence of
life in a home that has sheltered us for the past 4 years when we didn’t know
where or how we were going to live when we moved back from Georgia.
He opened up my eyes to a priority of presence. To be thankful. To experience life, the abundant life he
wants for us. He doesn’t want us
stressing over whether our floors are pristine enough to plate them with dinner,
or constantly nagging my kiddos to hang up their stuff, (although it would be
really nice if they would). God doesn’t
want me wasting time rearranging items in a food cabinet that is going to get
out of order with each use. He wants us
to focus on this life that is ticking away by the second, and to live it with
purpose each and every moment.
God has made me realize more then ever that we don’t
need to worry how our life was stacked in the pantry of our pain, but to know that He has filled our cabinet full of blessings, and
reminders of His goodness, mercy, and love.
The pantry is no longer bare, it is full of a
desire to feed the hungry, the hurting, and the homeless. A pantry full of purpose.
-Brenda Graff/Founder
Food for Soul Magazine is striving to continue feeding a community of families in crisis. We have over 33,000 readers in the states and thousands globally. Just imagine what we could do, if each of these readers sent just $1 to stock the pantry. We could do so much more. We are working towards a building of a crisis center to provide training and job skills for the unemployed. To encourage a life free from welfare, humiliation, and lack of provision. You can read more about it in February Issue page two.
Click here below to purchase a
$1 Pantry item for the People.
Or you may send a check or money order in any amount to:
FOOD FOR SOUL MAGAZINE
P.O. BOX 304
TOMBALL, TX 77377
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