For most of us, the first thing on our minds in the morning is breakfast.

 My alarm went off at 6:50 AM. My stomach was growling but I chose to hit the snooze button until 7:30 to get the last few precious minutes of sleep. I showered, got dressed in a hurry and prepared myself to greet church members, faculty, new members and visitors for this was my commitment to serving the Lord on every third Sunday of the month. I didn’t have time to eat so I quickly made a cup of tea, grabbed a bottle of water and stuffed a cheese Danish into a plastic baggie and headed for the door.

 I thought of the lack of eating a hearty breakfast. I imagined hot, buttered pancakes drizzled with syrup, scrambled eggs, sizzling bacon, a hot cup of hazelnut coffee and big tall glass of orange juice. As the cold air slapped me back into reality, I turned on the radio and carefully sipped hot tea while I waited for my car to heat up.

 As I waited for the red light to turn, I eyed the cheese danish. It was the perfect color— a beautiful golden brown with whipped, cream cheese filling sandwiched between the pastry. My mouth watered so I decided to take a bite. It was better than I imagined. The crust was soft and flaky and the cream cheese was soft and mildly sweet. Just the way I like it. It made my taste buds dance. The light turned green so I slid the danish back into the baggie and decided I would finish it once I got to the church parking lot.

 When I made the right turn, the cheese danish slid between the passenger car seat and the car door. As I went to clutch the bag, the danish fell out of the bag and under the seat between the car door. I was furious.  My tea was cold and I only took two bites of the flaky, soft crust.  I could hardly focus on driving and I just wanted to turn back around and go home and call it a day. Suddenly, a favorite Christian song came on the radio that calmed me down and ministered to my spirit. I started to praise God as I went on my way to church.

 Unfortunately, I was still rushing and felt a little frazzled entering the Walker Center lobby. I greeted the team leader at the Welcome Center. I was to meet a new volunteer in the Sanctuary. That is exactly where I didn’t want to greet today because I didn’t want to be around too many people. I was still hungry and a little cranky.

Once I met the other volunteer, he told me to relieve a lady working downstairs near the nursery. It was very cold because it was near the door.  In some way, I didn’t mind because it didn’t look like a busy area. I normally like to greet everyone upstairs at the entrance, but today was

different. I was hungry and cold, not a good combination in the morning. However once I started greeting people, my spirit began to change. I actually started to feel a sense of  joy enter my heart again. I smiled and welcomed everyone I met. It was awesome.

 Once I got to church, my pastor spoke about the importance of praise and worship. It was the perfect sermon I needed to hear. I felt my spirit come alive again. My spirit began to dance. I consumed the word of God and received spiritual nourishment that sustained me. I wasn’t even physically hungry anymore.  

 Just how we crave food in our daily lives, we should have the same craving for the Lord. Jesus should be the first meal of our day. Jesus is the bread of life. He is the sustainer of all things. “In him, is where we move and have our being.”  Our minds should be focused on Him as we start our day. He nourishes us with His truth, love, mercy and grace. He feeds us with the fruits of the spirit:

Love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Gal 5:22-23).