Sunday, January 18, 2009

Lord, give us this day our daily bread...


...and forgive me for buying it at the store!



I love bread of any kind. I am especially fond of sourdough bread and in my opinion, the best way to eat bread is slightly warmed - not toasted. And with butter - not margarine.
I came across a website at http://www.justpeace.org/bread.htm which sparked my interest and desire to try my hand at baking my own homemade bread. I scanned over the seemingly simple directions, purchased whole wheat flour and the packets of yeast, and after four hours of mixing, kneading, rising, punching, rolling, and baking it has been confirmed that I was born in the correct century.
Bread making is for women that have totally different DNA than I do. It is work like I have never experienced. I even had to have help from my son on the kneading part!That is a difficult, but necessary step in the bread making process. Kneading stretches the dough and develops the gluten, the springy stuff that gives bread its texture. Folding, pressing, and stretching with the hands. Exhausting, but so important. This tedious, back-breaking process of bread-making reminds me of how our heavenly Father takes the circumstances of life and develops us slowly, patiently into who He wants us to be. Giving us life full, free, and satisfying.
"For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world… I am the bread that came down from heaven… But here is the bread that comes down from heaven…I am the living bread that comes down from heaven… The one who feeds on me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven." -John 6:33, 41, 50-51, 57-58

No comments: