From Thy Bounty…

When my prince & I dine together, we begin with a spontaneous prayer (which usually ends up being mostly the same each time anyway ;)), but lately I’ve begun using the standard Catholic meal prayer when I eat alone (breakfast & lunch).

Bless us O Lord,
and these Thy gifts
which we are about to receive
from Thy bounty
through Christ, our Lord.
Amen

One line has been standing out to me: “from Thy bounty.”

For as long as I can remember, I’ve had the underlying instinct that “there’s not enough for me” (I’m sure the “reduce your carbon footprint” campaign didn’t help). Mom still recalls how mortified she was when the school informed her that I was writing with a little piece of pencil lead, insinuating that she was depriving me of necessary school supplies. It wasn’t that I needed a new pencil–stray pencils were easy enough to find (hallways, playground, school bus, etc.). But this stub of lead was still usable. I couldn’t bear to part with it. Waste not, want not, you know…

That has other ramifications, of course, (being a packrat is just one) which have followed me into adulthood.

Preparing (and listening to) RCIA presentations has introduced me to the truth at God created the world for man–for me–to provide the things I need. He created enough for me.

Logically I can grasp that. Changing my underlying instinct is quite another matter. I’ve been bringing this to prayer for quite a while.

Well, this week the farm where I usually get eggs (via a friend who’s their neighbor) was low…and so were we. Comparing the upcoming cooking projects with the number of eggs we had left & was not exactly reassuring (and with our dietary restrictions, adapting the menu isn’t trivial!). Should I make the deviled eggs I normally take for snacks at adult ed (which we host)? I was inclined to conserve (hoard).

…from Thy bounty…

I stopped.

“Well, Lord, You own the chickens on a thousand hills!
(apologies to Psalm 50:10!)
I’m going to take a chance and be generous.”

I put an egg on to boil (I know, that doesn’t sound very generous,
but when I made more I always had leftovers).

Within hours my friend called. Her neighbor has three dozen eggs today. Would I like her to bring some when she brought her daughters for crochet advice?

Would I?!

…from Thy bounty…

Thank You, God, for eggs
from Thy bounty!