“Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Saviour, and my hope is in you all day long.”
(Psalm 25:5)
Well it turns out that Friday, June 3 was ‘National Doughnut Day’! Who knew?
Apparently, this day was established by The Salvation Army in 1938 when women from our organization served these yummy treats as a form of respite and some nourishment to soldiers fighting in the war.
Again – Who knew?
As we now transition to the idea of ‘Hope’, our missional theme for the month of June, it’s interesting to consider the power of the mighty doughnut. These tasty goodies are everywhere. You can’t live in this country and travel even a block or two without coming across a place that sells doughnuts to the masses.
We use them all the time in our ministry units too. In 1990, when I started this work amongst folks who live on the streets, part of my job as cook was to go to the Eaton Center every night before my shift ended with empty garbage bags. I would walk through that mall collecting unsold doughnuts that would otherwise have been thrown out. I’d always come back with 3 full bags of treats ready to serve the next day to the folks who came through our doors. Everyone loves doughnuts, no matter how rich or poor you are.
They even the playing field.
(Well sort of. The ones we served were a day old. But that’s another story.)
But where does our hope lie? In the doughnut? Absolutely not. Or at least I hope not. At The Salvation Army, we believe that if we place our hope anywhere else but God, it only leads to emptiness. If our hope lies in the doughnut, drugs, television, sex, or anything else you can think of, then we are placing our hope in all the wrong places. And that can lead to the destruction of our bodies, our minds and our souls.
I like doughnuts – A LOT! But I’m hoping they don’t dominate where my true hope rests. And that hope is in the God of all creation, the Great Physician, the Lord of all life, the source of all wholeness.
So the next time we share a doughnut with each other and with the folks who access our centers, let’s keep in mind where our true hope rests. Because if we can do that, we’ll all hopefully become better people.
Keep on striving to be ‘The Hand of God in the Heart of the City’.
Peace,
Dion
Sometimes this world is hard to understand.
And even when we trust you, our hearts still ache.
So we come to you today asking for the hope we need.
Hope that sees past the here-and-now to the then-and-there.
Hope that believes what we cannot yet glimpse.
Hope that holds our hearts up in the moments when life brings us to our knees.
You are the only One who can sustain us.
You are the only One who can save us.
Be the rescuer of our souls, the deliverer of our dreams, the holder of our hearts.
We put our hope, and our hopes for those we love, in you.
Amen.
(adapted from here)