There is a story told about children in World War II who had experienced fear and hunger during bombing raids and worst of all, had been orphaned. Some of them were taken to refugee camps to be cared for. However they could not sleep at night lest they wake up once again homeless and hungry. Some wise person thought of giving each child a piece of bread to hold as they went to sleep. Finally peaceful sleep came. They were comforted holding the bread to remind them that they ate today and would indeed be fed again  tomorrow.

This powerful story reminds me that we religious educators, too, receive bread each day and will be offered it again tomorrow. All day long we receive the bread that St. Paul says is, "…that wisdom that God reveals to us through the Holy Spirit." What peace and richness can be ours if we go to sleep holding the bread we received  today.

All we need to do at the end of each day is to take five or ten minutes to be quiet and gather that bread to hold. Just sit quietly and ask: For what today am I grateful? What gave me joy? What can I learn from this day? Like the orphaned children we, too, can receive our bread to sleep with. Our bread will be rich: gratitude, that spark of life, that hope and joy and encouragement to take with us into tomorrow.

Jean Marie Hiesberger