We Will Rise


Last night I made bread. As I was lining up to take a photo of my glorious creation, my nearly-three-year-old said with disbelief, “You’re taking a picture of the bread?!? Bread can’t say “cheese”… I’ll say “cheese” for it!”

And she did. 

But as my little helper and I baked, I thought about the time we’re in, and about bread. We’ve narrowed things down to the bare essentials, haven’t we? Food. (And toilet paper.) Spending time with kids. Texting or calling those we love. 

Baking and breaking bread. 

My wife told me of friend of ours in Jordan who’s in lockdown, receiving rations of water and bread as sustenance. That’s it. Just water and bread. The essentials.

I thought about our great little bakery in town who wrote “We Will Rise” on their window with paint. It’s clever, yes, and resonates right now. Somehow speaking boldly about bread when times are tough feels right. Bread itself is woven into our greatest stories of resilience.

So, even as people suffer around the world, anxiety and fear tug at our frayed edges, and we narrow life down to its bare essentials in an effort to protect those we love, we will continue to bake, and break, bread. 

We will rise.