Going Back to Move Forward

Returning
Last Friday, I returned to where this all began.

It had been a few months.

The holidays.
Snow and ice storms.
A brief illness.
Travel.

Life had created a pause.

But something in me knew it was time to go back.

The Beginning of Something I Didn’t Yet Understand
Long before there were markets…
Before signs and tents…
Before any of this felt real in the way it does now…

There was Manna Cafe.

There was bread made in my kitchen, placed into my car, and driven to a place where it would be given freely to those who needed it.

No expectations.
No transactions.
Just offering.

At the time, I did not fully understand what was unfolding.

I only knew that it felt right.

Why We Go Back
Sometimes, in the middle of building something new, we are called back to where we started.

Not to stay.
But to remember.

To reconnect with the reason we began in the first place.

To make sure that as things grow, we do not lose what matters most.

I never want to lose that.

What It Gives Me
There is a feeling I get when I leave.

It’s quiet.

But it stays with me.

Sitting in my car after delivering something I have made with my own hands, knowing it will nourish someone else.

It is one of the purest parts of this entire journey.

Nothing added.
Nothing taken away.

Just giving.

What I Saw
They were happy to see me.

That alone would have been enough.

But as I stood there, something else caught my attention.

The warehouse.

Where there were once stacks upon stacks of inventory… shelves filled and overflowing…

It was almost empty.

I stood there for a moment, taking that in.

What Is Changing
There is something happening right now.

We can feel it, even if we cannot fully name it.

The economy is shifting.
Resources are tightening.
And when that happens, people feel it.

Families feel it.
Communities feel it.

Places like this feel it first.

And most.

What It Stirred in Me
I left that day with more than I brought.

Not physically.

But in understanding.

A reminder that what we are building in our own lives exists alongside what others are carrying.

That while we are growing, creating, becoming…

There are people simply trying to get through the day.

That awareness matters.

What We Can Do
This is not about doing something grand.

It does not have to be big.

It does not have to be perfect.

But it does ask something of us.

To pay attention.
To look around.
To notice what is changing.

And then, in whatever way we can…

To show up.

A small offering.
A little time.
A willingness to step outside of ourselves.

It all matters.

More than we think.

Holding Both
I am in a season of building something new.

Of stepping forward.
Of allowing my work to be seen.

And I am also being reminded not to lose sight of where it all began.

Of the part of this that is not about me at all.

Both can exist at the same time.

Both should exist at the same time.

Warmly,
Kathy
Art of The Crumb