Everyday.

The other night I was up until 2am finishing a school project. It was one of those projects that I didn't expect to take up very much time, but before I knew it I was 5 hours into it. I don't know about you, but I'm the type of person that gets super anxious when I don't have my homework completed for school. Therefore, sleep is something that I tend to sacrifice, a little too often. Eventually, when I finished all my work, I tucked myself under my sheets and went to bed, skipping my typical prayer routine.  The next morning, instead of waking up early to have my quiet time with Jesus, I slept in to account for my sleep deprivation. And as I handed in the project I slaved over, my mind immediately shifted to the next big project I needed to focus on. The stress was repeating itself, and even sleep didn't make me feel rested.The truth is, life can be pretty monotonous. Wake up, go to school, do homework, go to bed, and repeat. It's like a wheel that just keeps turning and turning and you feel like you can't break the cycle. But you can break bread. Wait what?! You're probably thinking, what the heck does bread have to do with my stress. Stick with me guys I promise we’ll get there. Check this out:“They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching, to the fellowship, to the breaking of bread, and to prayer” (Acts 2:42).These people broke the bread to remember Jesus on the cross dying for all of our sins, everyday. The bread representing the breaking of His body in return for ours.“Everyday they devoted themselves to meeting together in the temple, and broke bread from house to house. They ate their food with joyful and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all people” (Acts 2:46).When I see the words everyday, I get a small pit in my stomach. Putting another thing into to my daily schedule is usually the last thing I want to do. I mean, I feel like I can't even stop the wheel long enough to add breaking bread to my daily routine. But breaking bread isn't intended to overwhelm us, it is intended to give us rest. Rest that this world can't offer. Rest knowing that, through the grace of God, we are saved by the broken body of Jesus Christ which washed all of our sins and all of our imperfections away. True rest.I think the idea of spending time with Jesus, if I'm completely honest, tends to stress me out. School and extracurriculars seem like enough to keep me busy, and adding that other task seems nearly impossible.  It feels like a sacrifice that we would have to make to our well being. When in reality, we sacrifice our well being when we don't spend time with our creator. When we don't spend time with Him, it's harder for us to remember who we are. It's hard for us to remember why there is purpose in our monotonous lives.With Jesus, everyday is a new opportunity to glorify His name and to live the lives He calls us to live. I forget so often that life isn't just school and homework. Life is Jesus. Life is remembering whose we are and praising Him above all else. That is why we need to break bread. I don't literally mean go the market and grab a loaf to break everyday, although that's great too! I think we just need to thank Jesus everyday for his great sacrifice, knowing it's not something to crowd our agendas but rather to provide us peace. Breaking Bread doesn't have to be another thing on your to-do list, it is simply a time to do is to stop for a second and consider Jesus. We can do it while we eat, or while we are driving, he meets us wherever we are at. Without Him, we are nothing, because it is through Him that we are truly alive. Thank you Jesus.words by Samantha Burton and photo by Cate Willis