Making Bread

And we know that all things work together for good to those who love Him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. Romans 8:28-29

The other day I was in the kitchen pulling out all the supplies for making bread: bread machine, bread pans, flour, milk, eggs, butter, sugar, salt, yeast. The ever curious almost-three-year-old spied the happenings in the kitchen.

“Whatcha doing?” he asks.

“Making bread,” I reply.

He watches curiously for a while. I put milk and butter into a measuring cup and pop it into the microwave and he asks again, “Whatcha doing?”

“Making bread,” I repeat.

And because he is so smart, he says, “No, you’re not. You’re making milk and butter.”

Then I crack a couple eggs into a bowl and whisk them with a fork.

“Whatcha doing?” he asks another time.

“Making bread,” I reply again.

“No you’re not. You’re making eggs,” he says confidently.

This process continues until all the ingredients are in the pan and the goo is going round and round in the machine. He still doesn’t believe I am making bread. And two hours later when the hot, steaming loaves come out of the oven, he has no recollection of our earlier conversation. All the ingredients are long forgotten and he’s just enjoying his warm buttery slice of heaven.

Some days I am so much like him. Sometimes all I can see are the ingredients in my life. The long days and short nights. The mistakes. The successes. The whining child. The slobbery kisses. The boogers. The piles of schoolwork. The emerging teenagers. The groceries. The loads of laundry. The broken hearts. The getting-back-on track. The laughter. The frustration. The messes. The goo.

And I ask God again and again, “What are you doing? What are you up to?”

And I don’t believe him when he replies again and again, “I’m making you to be like ME.”

~written by Kendra