My husband and I have been blessed with four children and my oldest daughter recently turned 14, therefore the scenario I am about to describe, I have been witnessing for approximately the last 12 years!

Let me set the scene.

I am sitting on a wooden church pew while the sacrament is reverently being passed throughout the congregation. As the tray of bread makes its way down the row and finally to my less than quiet family, time and space come to an absolute halt as my youngest daughter ever so carefully and methodically chooses the biggest and fluffiest piece of bread.

This is clearly a life changing decision and requires much deliberation until she finally selects the perfect piece.

Anxious to pass the sacrament tray to the awaiting Deacon, I play the role of martyr and often take the smallest piece (usually the crust) to compensate for the fact that in her selection process, Charlie has often grabbed two or even three pieces of bread. This is followed by a mild scolding of “just take one piece” and then several minutes of attempting to reflect on my Savior while continually hushing arguing children, confiscating some form of slime they were told not to bring to church and picking up crumbs of fishy crackers that have just been ground into the woven carpet by somebody’s shoe. 

Now, depending on your season of life, this may or may not feel familiar to you but regardless, I invite you to reflect with me as several years experiencing the chaos described above have taught me a few lessons. 

LESSON ONE: JUST TAKE THE CRUST

Although my motives in taking the smallest piece of bread on the sacrament tray may not always be pure, in doing so I have often considered what that small piece of bread actually represents.

It is “that [we] may eat in remembrance of the body of thy son.” The bread is a symbol of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and my partaking of the bread renews covenants I have made with him.

There is no stipulation in the sacrament prayer that says, “those who had a pretty good week, the biggest pieces are for you. If you made a mistake of any kind, please just take the dry, crumbly crust.”

The power of the sacrament is universal and transcendent. The bread is merely the medium used in order for us to physically participate in the ordinance. It is not the bread itself that is sacred, it is the fact that even the tiniest piece of crust has been blessed and sanctified “[for] the souls of all those who partake of it.”

How incredible that a small piece of broken bread when blessed by God’s priesthood has the power to sanctify, cleanse and renew us.

After all, it was merely the dusty hem of Christ’s garment that healed the faithful woman in the New Testament. It was one small stone thrown by David that killed Goliath. It was a young boy that God called to restore his church upon the earth.

A dusty hem

A small stone

A young boy

Clearly God loves small and simple things, “[for] by small and simple things are great things brought to pass.”

There will be times in our lives that we are filled with strength, confidence and courage. There will be moments, even seasons of doubt, weakness and fear. But please remember, that the healing, cleansing and sanctifying power of the atonement are available to all. No matter who or where you are – just take the crust. 

LESSON TWO: THE BIGGEST PIECE

As we have just established, there is no ranking when it comes to the size of the piece of bread and its power and ability in our lives. That being said, maybe we can look at this from another angle. Is there something we can learn from Charlie choosing the biggest piece of bread on the tray?

The faith and innocence of a child reminds me that God loves all his children and wants what is absolutely best for them. If we consider the bread on the sacrament tray to represent the blessings that come from the atonement and not just the sacrifice itself, I believe that God (figuratively speaking) wants all of us to choose the biggest piece.

He stands waiting and wanting to bless us and sometimes we convince ourselves that all we are worthy of is a small crumb, for who am I to take the biggest piece. We may convince ourselves that we are not enough or have not done enough to receive God’s blessings or forgiveness and settle for the perimeter of “gospel crust” when truly our Father in Heaven wants nothing more than to fill us with the bread of life.

Consider these beautiful words from Jeffrey R. Holland,

“However late you think you are, however many chances you think you have missed, however many mistakes you feel you have made . . . I testify that you have not traveled beyond the reach of divine love. It is not possible for you to sink lower than the infinite light of Christ’s Atonement shines.”

God wants to give you his greatest blessings, he wants you to have the biggest piece.

LESSON THREE: WATCH WITH ME ONE HOUR

Several years ago before I was married and herding cats, I mean children into church every week I was sitting in an institute class where we were discussing the events surrounding Christ’s atonement – his suffering in Gethsemane, death on the cross and triumphant resurrection. A fellow classmate made a comment that I will always remember.

When Christ entered the garden, he said to his disciples,

“My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me.”

Christ then suffered in such agony that he even asked the Father to remove the burden placed on him. In need of companionship and support, he returned to his disciples only to find them all asleep and painfully asked,

“What, could ye not watch with me one hour?”

This poignant question is soul piercing and the comment was then made that each week during sacrament meeting, he considers that very question and how it impacts his thoughts and behavior during that “one hour” of the week.

This is a question I have considered and discussed with my children many times over the years . . . There are 168 hours in a week, can we not give him one?! 

LESSON FOUR: GOD LOVES BROKEN THINGS

In 2005, the theme for Especially For Youth was “A More Excellent Way”. I was 20 years old when that album came out and a year later I was on my mission and found myself listening to a lot of EFY music! There is a song on that album that often comes to my mind when I contemplate the sacrament each week called “Broken”:

“Broken clouds give rain, broken soil grows grain

Broken bread feeds men for one more day

Broken storms yield light, the break of day heals night

Broken pride turns blindness into sight

Broken souls that need His mending

Broken hearts for offering

Could it be that God loves broken things?“

I love that the sacrament bread is broken.

It is not sliced and cut into perfectly uniform pieces of the same shape and size.

It is uneven

imperfect

and each piece uniquely different from each other.

Do we feel like that little piece of bread – broken and torn revealing all our rough edges and imperfections. Some pieces of our lives are big and fluffy, and maybe sometimes you feel like you were dealt the crust. But I think we are in excellent company, for Christ himself was “bruised, broken, torn for us on Calvary’s Hill.“

“Broken chains set free, broken swords bring peace

Broken walls make friends of you and me

To break the ranks of sin, to break the news of Him

To put on Christ ’til His name feels broken in

Broken souls that need His mending

Broken hearts for offering

I believe that God loves broken things“

So maybe Charlie is actually partaking of the sacrament exactly as God intended:

slowly,

carefully,

thoughtfully considering all the blessings offered through the symbol of this small piece of broken bread. It truly is a life changing decision!

“Praise His name

My God loves broken things“