breaking bread

This week I got the chance to try Neighbor’s Mill (highly recommend their sticky buns) in Rogers. I went with one of my good friends, and we ate and talked and talked some more- the usual. It was the perfect atmosphere to catch up with someone. The decorations at Neighbor’s Mill are so simplistic with lots of greenery while still being warm and welcoming with rich wood and brick, although one thing in particular caught my eye. On the wall, their motto is painted: “Break bread with neighbors.” This phrase made such an impression on me. The rest of the week, I kept thinking about it and what it meant. We all know the scripture “love thy neighbor” and as kids we always thought it was literal until Sunday school told us otherwise. Neighbor doesn’t mean the person next-door? Mind blowing. That aside, this idea resided with me the rest of the week. The idea of “neighbors.” I think back on the times when I have received a message from a random person wanting to get coffee- one of my neighbors. I also think about the many times I have reached for an excuse to avoid the potentially awkward exchange. At the same time, rarely could I find an excuse, so I put on my big girl pants and would go to coffee. It never fails that I leave feeling encouraged, happy, content, even challenged. That is what happens when we break bread. There is a sense of commune and likeness that is found in a meal, or a coffee, with someone. It is something everyone enjoys, it is something everyone needs. Jesus gives us the classic example that we remind ourselves of in church one Sunday a month, sometimes more. When I left Neighbor’s Mill, I couldn’t help but think of the many others who were meeting in that same place after random messages and the way that the Lord would nurture that. I left feeling the need to reach out to someone, to break bread, and to help someone feel loved and wanted. That is the beautiful thing about our faith is that it is one that fights loneliness and encourages community. So often I find myself running away from that in fear of an awkward silence or two. What if instead of running from that, we run towards it? What if we reach out to people using the ease of a meal? I mean, if all else fails talk about how good, or bad, the food is. A meal is easy. That is why Jesus constantly taught through meals. He fed the five thousand, he ate with the tax collector, he asked Martha to prepare a meal, and in every instance a lesson was learned or love was shown. We are a part of a faith that is lived day to day and is best shown in the love we show to others. Our neighbors are all around us. They are your best friend, your family, your sorority sister, but they also are the girl from high school that was always drama, that one kid who always texts you even if you don’t respond, the boy that went crazy in college- each are equally important and equally in need of love. Reach out, break bread, and show Jesus’s fulfilling love.