Where It Begins
I’m in my sourdough era!
I had always been intimidated by the process—as so many of us tend to be—but as I watched more and more videos on it, I thought, “why not?”, it’s only bread, for goodness sake!
Then my friend stepped in and walked me through. We did a few FaceTimes. I gave it a try. I was hooked! There’s something about it that pulls you in, and keeps you coming back.
But that first loaf—oy vey!—really wasn’t even a loaf; I’d call it more of a “dense-flat-brick-bread-thingy” (you can see me with my first loaf in the video below). Yet, that morning, I was sooo excited to have done it. You'd think I had invented something noteworthy. But let me tell you, from that point on, a desire to get better, seeped in; to make something from scratch that is both nutritional and simpler.
It’s a thing for bakers, I’m telling ya.
The intimidating part though—the key for sourdough—is the starter.
That first mixing of flour and water, set to create its own fermentation. It’s about building it, letting it grow, keeping it strong; investing some time every now and then.
Friends, can that not be a more closer connection to faith; our beliefs?!
It's about the Starter!
It’s about what is strong enough for us to trust in, and grow in. It’s about what is true, and real, and proven, and sound, and established. Because there are a whole lot of other kinds of nonsense out there, that are anything but!
Our Starter is:
The Alpha and the Omega.
The Everlasting to Everlasting.
The great I Am.
It doesn’t get higher, deeper, better, or stronger than that!!
It is about Him—where everything begins; and where it all continues.
And we are part of it all. It’s what we do with THAT starter which integrates us into the whole process of growing, and being.
It’s those initial feelings of trepidation, to even be a part of God.
The baby steps of taking chances with faith.
The discovering of more.
The developing, and strengthening, and investing time, so that we grow, and mature, and rise.
It’s the deep desire of not wanting to be a "dense-flat-brick-faith-thingy", kind of believer.
Friends, it’s not where you are in the process—it’s that you are IN the process!
But make no mistake about it, the starter is everything: when it comes to baking sourdough, and living our faith.
One of them you have to create on your own, the Other has already been given.
Get out there and try a sourdough bake. Go ahead and try. But more importantly, get out there and grow your faith. Step in, if you haven’t yet. Get better, if you already are. Perfect it, if you have been doing it awhile. Because neither, truly, are difficult at the core. Both just require basic mixing, with some extra added effort thrown in.
“He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.” COL 1:17
(sidenote--If you haven't already, come join the community over on Social. Currently doing Monday short devotionals to start off our week.)