My newsletter exists to spread the idea of a loving spirit to readers each Tuesday morning.
Each week, I find inspiration from secular and/or sacred texts and weave a personal essay aimed at revealing a loving spirit at work in the universe. Each post concludes with a prayer and self-enrichment journal prompts.
Reflection:
“Patience attracts happiness; it brings near that which is far.” Swahili Proverb
Sourdough bread making is having a moment. Scores of my friends are putting out breathtaking images of loaves that prompt my mind to recall the smell from my mother’s warm kitchen. The treat of fresh-baked bread from the oven is comforting.
The practice of baking from scratch requires focused patience, a noble quality revered across cultures and beliefs. Today’s proverb serves to remind us to find opportunities to exercise patience with grace and fortitude for a future reward.
For sourdough bread, the baker must feed a starter daily for a week or more awaiting the ideal condition to make the bread. This is a slow intentional process where she waits with assurance of a finished loaf. There is no rushing the process.
The baker is patient with time while waiting for the yeast and bacteria to establish. She is patient with the dough while mixing it, kneading it, and watching it rise. The baker is patient with herself while shaping and scoring the loaf into its beauty. She is patient during the transformation that occurs while baking. The baker joyfully anticipates tasting the goodness.
Perhaps she shares the gift she has created, offering a friend a still-warm slice with a pat of dairy butter melting in its soft center. Her patience with the process has led to this reward. Strengthening character through patience is the baking byproduct.
I have this simple goal to stay in one place long enough to nurture a sourdough starter so that I may bake this goodness for my family. Unfortunately, my current lifestyle involves being away regularly.
Regardless of where I am, I can consider what it is that I am craving—aside from yummy carbs. When I desire to learn to make bread, I am seeking a reverent practice where I can grow in faith by recognizing the fulfillment of a promise.
This busy season shall pass. One day, I will taste the sweetness of sourdough bread straight from my oven. Until then, I will consider exercises in patience as appealing as waiting for bread to rise.
Prayer: Oh Holy One, thank you for the gift of patience. Allow me to wait for the good things in life and keep faith in the process. Bring me to greater joy by focusing on a grand moment yet to come. Amen.
Journal prompts:
What areas of your life test your patience? Make a list. Pick two or three situations from your list and write about how you react in these situations.
What areas of your life strengthen your patience? How can you cultivate more opportunities to grow in patience.
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