Lecanora

- April 5th - Exodus 16

This morning I learned my 401k

was shrinking,

evaporating like dew in the heat of

tariffs and trade wars.

In this dusty desert of uncertainty, I felt fear

catch in my throat as I prayed:

Our Father, who art in heaven, give us this day our daily bread…

and maybe just a little extra for tomorrow?

As my hopes shrank,

and the fear grew around me like a cloud,

as I prayed for just enough but then some,

as the dew lifted, I saw it,

bright white as coriander seeds, scattered at my feet.

This morning I learned that

manna still exists,

is still harvested in the desert and eaten as a delicacy,

that we could import it if the tariffs weren’t so high.

This biblical gift, this

bread raining down from heaven,

honeydew seeping, sticky sweet, from the tamarisk trees,

Lecanora lichen, paving the desert floor like a fine frost,

it’s still here.

There is always enough, isn’t there?

Manna has always been here,

a part of the very landscape,

a gift from the desert,

a gift from You.

I can just taste it, honey

melting on my tongue as the bitter burn

of fear in my throat disappears,

as I pray:

Oh, Mother in heaven, give me this day my daily bread,

and we’ll talk again tomorrow, and tomorrow, and tomorrow.