What Are We Going to Eat?

The garden of the house that the Lord has allowed us to manage, has fruit trees and, in the back, is a small stream bordered by large trees that provide shade which are an ecological corridor enjoyed by various species of birds and, from time to time, herds of monkeys.

I like to start the day praying Lauds and I really enjoy it when I do it in front of this garden, but a few days ago, after sitting comfortably, closing my eyes and getting ready for my first meeting of the day with God, it seemed to me that someone was looking at me.  This feeling led me to open my eyes and look directly into the branches of the guava tree in front of me. I was surprised to see a face staring at me.  It was a little monkey eating a guava! Then I realized that he was not alone.  Near him was a bigger monkey and, further on, another even bigger one. I noticed that they ate the guavas with great pleasure, then threw the rest away and picked one more and then another and another. This scene has been repeated for days, very early in the morning and around noon… the tree is in full harvest and the production is very good. Observing them, I assume that it is a family of three members who have found a real delicacy in my garden, and if the tree produces guavas, they will come every day for breakfast and lunch. Once they are satiated, they leave and continue their way through the corridor of large trees.

In prayer, I thanked God for creation, for making everything so perfect that none of us, his creatures, has to suffer for not having something to eat or a place to live. The Lord has promised to provide for our needs. As for us, his children, the Lord has told us in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the Kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all things will be given to you as well.” The same Lord who satisfied the hunger of 5,000 people with only five loaves and two fish, who feeds this simple family of monkeys every day, has promised to satisfy our needs as well. How will he do it? He frequently uses different means to take care of us. What we must do is fully trust Him in the way He will choose to provide for our needs. If we believe in his promise, we can feel calm and be happy. The Lord teaches us to be content when our basic needs are met. Let’s remember the Letter to Timothy 6:8 that teaches us, “as long as we have food and clothing, we are happy with that.” Let’s not confuse needs with desires; one thing is the basic needs of life (food, clothing, and shelter) and another is the desire for something beyond these everyday needs. Although the Lord allows us to have desires, he has not promised to satisfy all of them.

Our Lord asks us to abandon ourselves to the Providence of the Heavenly Father who takes care of the smallest needs of his children. He asks us not to worry about or ask: What are we going to eat? What are we going to drink? Or will we have clothes to wear?  Only those who do not know God strive for these things, since the Heavenly Father, our Father, knows that we need all of this. (Matthew 6:31-32)

Let us take each day as a gift from God’s Providence; a gift that is not an empty box on the inside, but a box filled with what we need to meet our basic daily needs.  Our job, then, is to do things calmly and in order and, most importantly, to remain in God, always trusting in Him.