Some time ago during worship I told a story.

Some time ago during worship I told a story.

I told the story of a Jewish man who was dozing off during a service and thought he heard he heard God commanding him to bake 12 loaves of bread. Well the man did bake the bread and left them in the synagogue. Then a poor man who was starving found the loaves of bread and thought God must've performed a miracle! And so it went on: the 1st man thinking he was baking bread for God to eat, and the 2nd man thinking that God was working miracles for his starving family.

Of course, if you knew what was happening it didn't seem like so much of a miracle - though of course in reality it's always a miracle in its own way when people provide for one another.

Anyway, after I told that story in the service a strange thing happened. I started getting bread left on my doorstep at the parsonage! Very nice home-made bread!

Now I don't know who is leaving it but it has been arriving regular as clockwork. All different varieties too: white bread, brown bread, bread with seeds in it, even bread with fruit in it.

Whoever is leaving is surprisingly agile! I've sprinted to the door in the hope of finding out who it is, but to no avail. All I ever find is a loaf of bread waiting for me.

I've decided to stop trying to find out who leaves it and, instead, just to accept the blessing for what it is: a gift of thoughtfulness, generosity, and delicious home-made bread.

Now this is all very nice, but the story continues....

Someone was visiting me and said that they had to take a detour on the way home as they'd forgotten to get some bread. “No problem” said I, “I've got a loaf you can have” and I gave that person one of the loaves of bread I was given.

The next day I got a phonecall. “Who made that lovely bread?” said my friend. Was it you? Now, I could've lied and taken the credit, but I decided to be a little more cryptic! “No, God makes it and leaves it on my doorstep. It's a miracle” I said.

Of course, I then had to explain about the story I had told in chapel and the mysterious, but very welcome, loaves of bread that have been continuing to arrive ever since.

It reminded me of a long-known truth: blessings aren't meant to be kept. They are there to be shared so that others may share in the blessing.

The bread may not continue to arrive forever but I don't think I'll ever forget this small act of kindness. Although I don't know who it is who leaves me the bread, I thank God for small miracles that make our lives brighter.

Of course, there is the old saying “what goes around comes around” and I think that's quite true.

A few years ago I was struggling a little financially and a friend of mine sold her flat. She gave me £500. I didn't want to accept so generous a gift but she insisted saying that someone had given her a similar amount of money when she had fallen on hard times. She told me that, therefore, it was never her money in the first place and so she needed to pass it on.

And you know what, (and I'm not telling you this just to make myself appear virtuous!), quite recently I had the opportunity to help someone and so that money has been passed on again. I like to think that money might keep getting passed on and blessing many others in the process.

Whether it's loaves of bread, or gifts of money, or the woman at chapel who bakes me a rice pudding occasionally, or a bottle of wine given to me at Christmas.... I'm so blessed and feel so loved.

It's not like I couldn't afford to buy these things for myself. Of course I could, but the fact that I know that someone is thinking about me is a precious, precious gift.

I hope that you feel thought-of and loved. The most miserable state to feel is that no-one thinks about you. If you know someone who is alone then maybe you can reach into your heart and recall a time when you have been blessed by the generosity and thoughtfulness of others. Maybe you've kept that blessing for yourself for too long and it's now time to pass it on so that others might be blessed.

I think of the story of Jesus looking on the crowd and seeing that they were hungry. The only food available was 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish. Jesus blessed the food and gave it out and the whole crowd was fed. Impossible (you might say)! Maybe so, but I've learnt in life that a little blessing can go a very long way if we share it.

May we never forget to share our blessings so that others might also be blessed.

A prayer:

Eternal One, help us to see you in each other: in the little things we do for one another and in the blessings we share.

When we feel touched or blessed by the kindness of another may we always be eager to pass that goodness onto others, that peace and love may be multiplied.

May we always be of the opinion that 'no job is too small'; knowing that no small act we can do is worthless or pointless.

For all the good people in our lives who have made us feel wanted and loved, we are thankful. May we honour their influence on our lives by resolving that we will live our best, our most compassionate, and our most loving. Amen

the full story can be read here