Daily Bread

It started at 5:45am, when God woke me up long before my alarm would go off. I felt Him beckoning me to go on a run with him. As I jogged past the home of my dear friend Betty, I decided to stop in to visit. Betty has AIDS, but continues to see this disease as a talent from God through which she can reach the lives of those dying in this country. I knew that the anti-retroviral drugs were making her very sick and that she hadn’t been able to keep any food down for four days.

Her radiant smile greeted me from her bed and I stepped around the three orphans sleeping on the dirt floor to greet her. Betty was in good spirits. She hadn’t vomited in 8 hours and for this, we praised God together. Our singing filled the small hut and I knew that the pleasing aroma of praise was touching the throne of heaven.

As Betty brought out her Bible to read together, she told me, “No matter how discouraged I get, every time I open the Bible, God speaks to me. Yesterday I read that Jesus didn’t come for the healthy, but for the sick. Imagine! I am the sick person that Jesus came for!” Yes Betty, He came for the sick, and He came for you.

Together, we ate our daily spiritual bread as we read God’s word and prayed together. But I knew Betty needed physical bread as well. She needed bread to take with her morning medication, but there was none in the home. So, I ran to find some bread, and upon returning with half a loaf, Betty joyfully ate it.

I smiled as I walked home that morning. My 5:45 wake-up call had been so that a child of God could receive her daily bread. God cares about our needs– both spiritual and physical. Thank you God for providing bread today, and thank you for allowing me to be part of how you provided for Betty