Noonday Notes

Volume 3, Issue 14

September 11th, 2026

Go to your cell. Retreat to your cave. Those lines kept coming to my mind this week as three women I love dearly were in darkness. A cave of miscarriage. A cave of not receiving the promotion that was pretty much promised.  A cave of physical and emotional exhaustion that felt too heavy to bear. I found myself just outside their cells, sort of in the hallway throwing in prayers, vibes, and songs. One thing they all needed was a snack. Food. Sustenance. Provision.

One wanted to eat salad together. One wanted cake for breakfast. One wanted ice cream once she left the cave. It’s always food we need. I often talk about how food is our common thread and the way into a relationship because we all have to eat. We all need our daily bread, not just the figurative like I wrote about last week, but also the literal. Food heals. God shows us this.

That brings us to Elijah. When he’s at the pinnacle of his prophet career he is still afraid of Jezebel and her death threats. So he runs to the wilderness, sits under a tree, and says “it is enough; now, O Lord, take away my life…” (1 Kings 19:4-8 ESV). Then he proceeds to take a nap (also something my cave ladies were doing frequently). But then an angel of the Lord touches him and says “Arise and eat”. So he does, but then right back to his nap. An angel comes again and tells him to arise and eat because he has another side quest, his mission is far from over. Elijah eventually also goes to a cave, but first he eats.

We're not just souls, we are bodies too. We need rest, nourishment, and strength for the journey. One of God's favorite ways of caring for people is through food. Sweet water in the desert. Manna from the sky. Bread from a widow. Ravens carrying meals. Literal provision for literal people. But it’s never just calories, it’s also care. And a reminder that we are dependent creatures, on each other and our Creator.

Sometimes we're looking for answers when what we need is a snack. Sometimes we're looking for a breakthrough when what we need is a nap. And sometimes the most faithful thing we can do is receive what God has put right in front of us or be the one who brings that provision to someone else.

Maybe the most spiritual thing you do today is eat something, take a nap, and remember that God has not forgotten you. Or maybe you're the one standing just outside someone else's cave. If so, start with food.

Read the rest of the newsletter here.