Give us this day our daily bread...

Last Sunday I did my first 'bread run' which means collecting unsold bread from the staff member of a well known Aussie bakery chain and repackaging it. The bread, in the first instance, gets divided up into bags for families in need at three local schools and are handed out by the each school's chaplain.

My first night required five bags to be packed and I tell you now. I spent a lot of time thinking about what to put in those bags. My thoughts were in acknowledgement that I too am a parent and it led me to consider what I would appreciate being given. It was a long 30 minutes of packing as I aimed to pack bread, sweets and savouries in a combination that demonstrated thought and consideration.

After packing those five bags as full as they would allow I also packed three bags for the residents of the local youth housing that I am involved in the governance of as well as some loaves from a family that I knew would appreciate the gesture also. The remaining loaves and rolls would also be dropped at Church for visitors to the Cafe or the playgroup to take home as desired.

After sorting, packing and re-loading my car I felt somewhat drained and yet joyed, at the same time. It later led to a philosophical Facebook status update that said, "Kristy Bennett is wondering why making life balance out is always such a struggle - why are we naturally such selfish, self-seeking beings and so often lack consideration of others?" (Friends can link to the discussion thread here). It certainly sparked some very intense discussion which begs the question whether it wise to actually put anything even vaguely meaningful on a social networking site.

Nonetheless, it was a good thing to spend just that small amount of time considering the needs of others, in fact, complete strangers and seeking to give them the best that I could offer from what I was given. It is something I look forward to doing again in the future.