MANNA

Manna.
That is the word given to me the other day as I sat quietly in the early morning hours.

Some say it is like hoarfrost, which
melts away in the warmth of the sun. 

Manna?  That's what the Hebrew people consumed during their forty years in the wilderness as they followed Moses.  In fact, some say that the manna stopped when Moses died . . . shortly before God's chosen people crossed the Jordan River into the Promised Land.

Mid-1400s
Beautiful rendering of manna gathering

An ancient rendering of manna gathering.
The Egyptian word for 'food' at that time
was mennu.  Did 'menu' derive from manna?

Manna.  A food that met all requirements for human survival.  A little sweet but no distinctive taste.  Must be gathered early in the day or it will disappear.  Cannot be kept overnight as it will rot . . .  except the day before the Sabbath . . . when the Hebrew people could take enough to consume on their day of rest.  There were about two million Hebrew people at that time so there was lots of manna gathering before their Sabbath.


Hmmmm.      Coriander.
When crushed, it smells fresh and delicately delicious.  Some say that manna was a bit like coriander.  It is often used in Christmas cookies.
I love recalling the history behind manna.  Wikipedia has pages full if you want to investigate further.  That's where I got the above pictures.  But, for me, today, this week, going into Holy Week, it says so much more.  I will go into greater depth if you want to look at my other blog:  womenofworthmin.com    but for now I simply reflect on the word, manna for my daily consumption.

Food for thought.
 God's words that come to me through prayer, scripture study,  and remembering verses that I have planted in my heart.
 Manna.
This feeding . . . it's so daily.
 A word given to me today has vanished by tomorrow . . .  or at least its impact is not the same.
 God is telling me to chew carefully on a word or words that seem to linger deep inside my soul on any given day.
My senses tell me to just be content to hear, read, mark, learn and inwardly digest a single word or a single sentence . . . even if it seems mundane . . .  tasteless.

Some days seem that way.
Tasteless.
 So daily.
 So non-exciting.
 Manna.
Just eat the moment.
 Digest the moment.
Let the moment, the word, the phrase . . .  fill the empty spaces deep inside of me so that I feel full.

Let a simple word, given to me in a mega-instant, fill me to overflowing even if I do not relish its content.  The reason I let go of extra sweets is so I could fully indulge in a sense of emptiness, as the hebrew people did, when I crave that which I do not need.

The manna I eat daily at lunch, filled with
hummus and a ripe tomato.  No extra sweets.
So, no Peanut butter and jelly until after Lent.

 Isn't life like that?  We want so much more than what we have surrounding us.   We look beyond our quiet-time chair or far beyond the view from our window.
It's 'MANNA TIME'!
 I empty artificial sounds from the room.
I close out extra stimulus that distracts me.
I simply sit or walk or explore my natural surroundings.
My day may be as basic as manna but oh what gifts lie in front of me.
What a gift it is to see the fat robin perched on our pole that has yet to hold our bird house.
I actually hear the screeching wind slip through the narrow expanse between our house and the new one next door.
I try to smell the dried apple slice as my tongue touches it and rolls it around a bit.
I taste a bit of acid with a bit of sweet.

Manna.  Apple chips must suffice as my sweet.
I relish them as I suck each thin 'crisp' melting in my mouth. 

  Any of my senses can be easily snatched away in an instant .
  If I learn to enjoy the simplicity of manna, a single sense will thrive.
Perhaps that is why the Jewish people spend the days of Passover eating matzah, unleavened, so like manna.
 We Christians also are called to fast from rich foods during Holy Week.  Learning to simplify, step back from indulgence, appreciate the senses given to us at any single moment, may prepare us for the incredible feast of God's presence in our lives.
Manna.
The more I chew on this word, the better it tastes.