1 Samuel 1 & 2

On a warm summer day, a woman is walking downtown around lunchtime. There is a slight breeze, she can hear the birds chirping, and she can smell the freshly baked donuts about a block away. She thinks about how hungry she is and how a freshly baked donut would fill her empty stomach. She decides that she is going to get that donut, no matter what, so she keeps on walking all the way into the bakery. 

A bell jingles when she opens the door and she is greeted by the little old man who runs the shop. He offers a cheerful welcome, and as is customary in any small town, he strikes up a deep conversation as if they’d known each other forever. “How are the kids?” “How’s the husband?” “How is work?” And the questions just keep coming. The woman continues to answer, trying to be patient, while her thoughts are screaming, “I just want a donut!” 

The woman finally reminds the man why she is there. The man smiles and says that he just sold out of his last donuts before she walked in, but that he thinks she will enjoy a thick slice of this fresh, warm, wholegrain bread. She sighs, pays, and walks out of the store, leaving the man smiling behind the cash register (as much as the owner loves running his bakery, he most enjoys conversations with customers every day!). The lady rips into the small paper bag as she walks down the sidewalk, and she hungrily takes a large bite from the piece of bread. It is absolutely delicious - maybe even better than a donut! She finishes it in a matter of minutes and realizes she is no longer hungry. 

Sitting down on a bench, the woman begins to ponder, about the man, the conversation, what she wanted versus what she received. She thinks about how she feels after a donut (hungry for more!), but how the bread made her feel full and satisfied. 

*****

While I was reading this week’s passage, I created this parable about hunger. Hannah is hungry, like the woman. God is also hungry, like the baker, for conversations (as well as feeding his customers). Hannah’s hunger led her to the Lord, just as the woman’s hunger led her to the bakery. Hannah wanted a child but had to go to God and talk to Him, just as the woman had to talk to the baker first. This parable also aims to show how we may not always get what we originally wanted when we came to God; what we do get is a meaningful conversation with God and something that may be more filling than what we were first hungry for.

God may not grant that desire right away or at all, but He will help you become hungry for a conversation with Him. How can you turn your hunger for ____ into a meaningful conversation with the One who made all things?  He is always ready to listen, and always ready to offer you something better than that donut you came in for!