Therefore do not be anxious

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"Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you shall eat or what you shall drink, nor about your body, what you shall put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add one cubit to his span of life? And why are you anxious about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they neither toil nor spin; yet I tell you, even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is alive and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will he not much more clothe you, O men of little faith? Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek all these things; and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things shall be yours as well." -- Matthew 6:25-34

I have always loved that passage in scripture. In our day, and (currently) in our country, however, we rarely have to truly worry about where our next meal is coming from. Times get tight, but rarely do any of us go hungry. It's hard to learn this lesson if you never have to be anxious.

Today, early this morning, I took my high schooler Joshua to earn some service hours at the local St. Vincent de Paul pantry. His job, and I was "invited" to help as well, was to fill grocery sacks with food, bucket brigade style, for the needy who are elderly and shut-in, or handicapped. After the bags were filled with a balance of pantry items, frozen meat, and fresh bread, they were to be delivered by drivers right to the door of those in need.

I was chatting with the lady who stood next to me filling bags with canned goods -- she was one of the organizers of the bi-monthly project. I was curious as to where the food comes from -- because they were boxes of like items -- all the same brand, so clearly they had not come from random food collections. She told me the St. Vincent de Paul Society purchases the food from the local food pantry with monetary contributions. I asked if they ever don't have enough and she said, "Never. Somehow there is always enough."

I then asked her about the volunteers. Josh and I were two out of about 15 people either pulling stock off the shelves or filling the bags. I asked how they schedule the volunteers, always making sure there are enough, and she said they never schedule them -- not one. I asked if they ever don't have enough, and she said, "Never. Somehow there are always enough."

And so I wondered, how can anyone, even those with very little, or no faith, not see the hand of God at work?

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, `What shall we eat?' or `What shall we drink?' or `What shall we wear?'...your heavenly Father knows that you need them all.

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