When my wife, Rochelle, and I went grocery shopping this week, we spent 10 minutes in the bread section. We saw white bread, brown bread, flax bread, cheese bread, cheese wraps, sun-dried tomato wraps, poppy seed bagels, sesame seed bagels, poppy and sesame seed bagels, whole wheat pitas, English muffins, rolls, naan, injara and a hundred other bread possibilities. We were paralyzed by choice.
Earlier this year we were living in Harare, Zimbabwe. At lunch time, we would often walk to Fife Spar─one of the country's largest grocery stores─to hunt for bread. Sometimes there would be a long lineup (or a queue as Zimbabweans would call it) for bread stretching down the block. Depending on the size of the queue, we would get in line. At other times, we would wander around the store, waiting for the possible moment when bread would appear and people would rush and jostle for a loaf. On one occasion, I got a nasty bruise from someone's elbow.
Obtaining a loaf of bread was an accomplishment. And on those days when we were successful, we would often feel guilty as we walked back to work and people on the street and our coworkers stared at our two loaves of bread. These would be simple white loaves, with no poppy seeds, no olives, no cheese.
It's not that Zimbabweans don't like to eat bread or that it's not part of their typical diet; in fact, most Zimbabweans would prefer to eat bread every day. The bread shortages exist because the Zimbabwean economy has collapsed, farms are no longer producing adequate wheat and the country can no longer afford to import enough flour. And so it is not unusual for a Zimbabwean to line up for hours in the hope of obtaining a simple loaf of white bread.
When Jesus taught his followers to pray to God the Father, he included the phrase, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). In our affluent society in Canada, it is so easy to forget that we need to depend on God and be grateful for his provision. As millions of Zimbabweans (and billions of other peoples worldwide) struggle to survive and find their daily bread, I pray that we will never take our prosperity for granted and that we can find ways to share our wealth with others.
John McAlister is senior editor for The Salvation Army's Editorial Department. From 2006-2008, he served in Zimbabwe with his wife, Rochelle. John and Rochelle have a baby boy named Kieran Tinashe.
Earlier this year we were living in Harare, Zimbabwe. At lunch time, we would often walk to Fife Spar─one of the country's largest grocery stores─to hunt for bread. Sometimes there would be a long lineup (or a queue as Zimbabweans would call it) for bread stretching down the block. Depending on the size of the queue, we would get in line. At other times, we would wander around the store, waiting for the possible moment when bread would appear and people would rush and jostle for a loaf. On one occasion, I got a nasty bruise from someone's elbow.
Obtaining a loaf of bread was an accomplishment. And on those days when we were successful, we would often feel guilty as we walked back to work and people on the street and our coworkers stared at our two loaves of bread. These would be simple white loaves, with no poppy seeds, no olives, no cheese.
It's not that Zimbabweans don't like to eat bread or that it's not part of their typical diet; in fact, most Zimbabweans would prefer to eat bread every day. The bread shortages exist because the Zimbabwean economy has collapsed, farms are no longer producing adequate wheat and the country can no longer afford to import enough flour. And so it is not unusual for a Zimbabwean to line up for hours in the hope of obtaining a simple loaf of white bread.
When Jesus taught his followers to pray to God the Father, he included the phrase, “Give us today our daily bread” (Matthew 6:11). In our affluent society in Canada, it is so easy to forget that we need to depend on God and be grateful for his provision. As millions of Zimbabweans (and billions of other peoples worldwide) struggle to survive and find their daily bread, I pray that we will never take our prosperity for granted and that we can find ways to share our wealth with others.
John McAlister is senior editor for The Salvation Army's Editorial Department. From 2006-2008, he served in Zimbabwe with his wife, Rochelle. John and Rochelle have a baby boy named Kieran Tinashe.
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