11/08/2024
Food Distribution
“He waters the mountains from his upper chambers; the land is satisfied by the fruit of his work. He makes grass grow for the cattle, and plants for people to cultivate—bringing forth food from the earth: wine that gladdens human hearts, oil to make their faces shine, and bread that sustains their hearts.” -Psalm 104:13-15
Everyone needs food. On the first page of the Bible, as we see God creating and blessing the land and its creatures, we see him providing for their basic needs.
But we do not live in Eden, and many of us do not even live within walking distance of a farm. The modern method of getting food on the table is a complex and complicated venture. Thousands of people work the fields, the orchards and the meat farms–tending, harvesting, slaughtering. Some with joy, others with pain. Some paid well, others barely compensated. The products are culled, washed, cut, quartered, sliced, bundled, packed. The boxes, cartons and plastic bags–designed and put together by other workers somewhere else–are filled with apples, crackers, pork, carrots, bottles of oils, cans of soup and beans. The trucks, ships, and planes are serviced and loaded up, ready to travel all over the world to arrive at the back door of your grocery store, where the manager, ready with his inventory sheet, works with his team to sort the products and get them onto the shelves.
The intricacy of this process is mostly lost on those of us who wander the aisles comparing prices and planning our weekly dinners. We do not realize that the whole world is working to get that Nutella in our cart.
And yet, in all its complexity, in the millions of human stories attached to this industry, with all the broken pieces involved, there is an overarching goodness to the provision of food. And those who stock the shelves, pick the fruit, drive the trucks and pack the boxes are reflecting their Maker as they do so.
If you work in the chain of food distribution, thank you for your service, for your unseen labor. And as you endure the long days and the often tedious and difficult tasks, may the Lord bring you rest and joy. Put your hope in him who will put all things right in the end.