#Living Psalm 30 (and inspired as well by the John 21lectionary passage)_Mankin

There is a certain scent in the air 
when breakfast is being prepared. 
You may lay in bed, staring at the ceiling,
listening to a cacophony of pots and pans
in the kitchen down below, or down the hall.
You might roll away from the sun, content to hear
the quiet murmur of others around a campfire
as they boil coffee and heat bacon and eggs 
or pots of oatmeal to share as the sun comes up.

You might recall a Saturday in your childhood, 
the specific muffins baked, the sound of cereal
poured into bowls. You may find yourself wishing
for your favorite diner, open 24 hours, breakfast 
whenever the mood strikes. It might even remind you
of a morning when you woke, groggy and cold, 
on the floor of your best friend’s bedroom, listening
to her father whistling while he made pancakes 
that didn’t taste exactly like what you had at home.

The warmth it evokes, of that first breaking of the fast
after a long night or a good night or a sleepless night,
lingers in the nose, and in the heart, as surely as the sight
of Jesus on the shore, arms open, cook fire ready.
You jump from the boat, splashing through the shallows 
to reach that comfort, to grasp at what has been lost
and found again. Words of thanksgiving tumble from your lips
as you eat. You have questions but you don’t pry. 
The hunger is greater than your need to make sense
of why one moment is full of grace, and another,
dust in the mouth, the inescapable pit
in your stomach that this moment is temporary.

Soon, though, the day will begin. You will struggle to remember 
that moment between sleep and waking when the possibilities 
were infinite, when no mistakes had been made, and forgiveness
was not only given, but accepted. You may forget how hungry
you were, how comforting it was to be nourished and held,
if only for a moment. The memory of gratitude may fade.
You might take for granted, again, all that you swore to see
and celebrate. For better or worse, you are only human.
You will be hungry again, and God will be waiting.