“Give us this day our daily bread.” This is a line I am sure we have all heard as well as said monotonously as we recite the Lord’s Prayer. But what does that even mean? Do we ever even stop and ask God to give us today and to simply meet our daily needs? I know there are so many days that I do not. It is so easy to get caught up in desiring the future and what is to come. I can get lost in the big dreams and ideas in my head. But what if God is calling us to just stop and see what is right in front of us today?
God has been challenging me over the past year and a half to be present. He has been teaching me to stop jumping five steps ahead and simply allow things to come moment by moment. He has been opening my eyes each day to see what he has for me right now. Life on the World Race is a little slower and simpler at times and I honestly love it. Because we tend to take things day by day on the field, it creates space for me to notice God in the small things.
This past month my team and I were in China. We only had two weeks there, so each day was precious. Each day we would wake up and ask God what he had for us that day. We had no plans, but God moved and showed up in little or big ways every single day.
One of my favorite days (probably of the whole race) was one day that we went to a park in Lanzhou, China. We went to the park to meet up with a man, who we met the day before, who wanted to speak with us to practice his English. While we were waiting for him my teammate Emily started playing badminton with some other locals in the park. Soon all of us joined in. A few minutes later some more locals who were dancing in the park pulled a few of my teammates aside and began teaching them a traditional Chinese dance. A little while later another woman came over to me and my teammate Erika and began to dress us in traditional Chinese skirts and take photos with us.
I looked around the park and saw all of my team engaging and interacting in different ways with the locals. Most of the locals couldn’t speak a word of English, but that didn’t matter. We were able to connect with people through things they were passionate about and enjoyed doing. We came alongside them and just laughed, danced, and played in the park. It was so simple, yet so profound. We chose to actually stop and be interruptible. We had gone to the park for one reason and ended up doing so many other things because we chose to open our eyes and see what was right in front of us.
God can move in incredible ways when we just slow down and actually take the time to be open to what he is doing in the present moment. If we are moving through life too quickly, we might miss out on what God is trying to do here and now. I know this all might sound cliche, but it is so true. So my challenge for anyone who is reading this is to stop and ask the Father to, “give us this day our daily bread,” and honestly, you’ll be amazed at how He shows up!
