Last night my pastor preached on living in the reality of abundance as opposed to the myth of scarcity. He used the text of Mark 8 where time and time again the disciples forgot the abundance Jesus created with food, and the pharisees asked for a real sign. He said that often we cling to a myth of scarcity, always fearing the worst and arguing over the little we have. Rather we should note the provisions of God and live with an awareness of the abundance God creates. Creation ex nihlio, you know.

So I thought I would take a minute to tell you a story. On Friday evening I had friends over to see Lynnette who was in town for Shanna Beth's wedding. Two of my married friends let themselves into my house and began stacking the fridge with beer and warming up saki, etc. I was in my bedroom tidying up a bit and singing Alanis Morisette at the top of my lungs.

A bit later when I went to the fridge to grab aforementioned beer, I noticed a jar of jam with my name written on it. It's label revealed that it was from Whole Foods, a store that my roommate (who has already moved out) usually shopped at. "Oh, Erin must not have wanted this and left it for me," I said, kind of surprised. "No . . ." married friend said (she and he shall remain anonymous), "check the pantry." And as I opened the pantry I discovered that it had was stacked full of food: soups, mac and cheese, cus cus, rice, cereal . . . and then I turned around and saw fruit galore on the counter: peaches, apples, bananas, pears, cantalope. "What the . . . ?" as I realized what my two friends had done. "We know you're trying to make that last AISD paycheck stretch as long as you can, and we wanted to make sure you are eating, so we went grocery shopping for you."

Talk about abundance in scarcity. My heart throbs still at the shock. That was the coolest thing I've experienced in a long time.

Talking with Lynette about it later, I remarked that I felt guilty. "Don't," she said. "When I was living with Jolynna, she gave me a break in rent that last semester I was in school and that really saved me. She had a job and I didn't. I'll never forget that. So last semester Sam and I, now that we both have good jobs, sent Jana Lee a check with a significant portion of money to help her get through some hard times while in school. And when you get in a place 'of abundance' [my words, not hers], you can turn around and help someone else out."

How truly beautiful. Community is so redemptive. Holly Eades hired me this past week to deep clean her house. Wes Eades hired me to preach and sing at the church he's interim pastor at. WPBC hired me to preach last month. Friends at church are on task for finding me a place to live come July 31st. And now I have a pantry full of food. Thank you God for your abundance in friends. The scarier life becomes, the more you provide. Thank you.