f I am to refrain from shopping tomorrow, then I must make sure I have all the food I need today. This usually means that I am running to the grocery store in the last hour of Regular Time.
Last week I did not submit to discipline and found myself in the check-out line at 6:30 a.m. on the Sabbath. I was in line behind a man with two full grocery carts. Call it my penance.
Today is the day before Sabbath – preparation day. If I were a good Jew, I’d be cooking a feast. Instead, I’m a fairly lousy Christian, so my preparation usually involves picking up frozen pizza and making sure we have enough milk. But now it is 4:30 p.m., and there is no way I will get to the grocery store before five o’clock.
Resigned, I look through the cupboards. We have plenty of bread. There is leftover soup. The freezer holds bags of veggies. The kids can drink juice if the milk runs out in the next 24 hours. I am out of coffee, but I have plenty of tea.
As I study the cupboard, I see abundance I usually fail to recognize. The ground is teeming with white flakes of manna. We have more than enough. Finally, I give thanks.
