Who am I kidding? Baking your daily bread in a bread machine is easy. It’s almost fool-proof. Almost….
I put all my ingredients in one day, just focusing on putting in the flour, the salt the
sugar or honey taking for granted the bucked would do what I am not able or willing to do. I set the bread type and crust type and walked away. Three hours later I looked into machine through the big picture window at the top of the machine and saw the top was rough and uneven. Not a good sign. I took the pan out of the machine and it slid out with only one jerk out of the bucket and plunked onto the cutting board. On the bottom was just this small hole instead of the imprint of the paddle. Looking down into the pan I saw the paddle, the little work horse of the whole unit, was gone and baked into my dense loaf of bread. In honestly the bread still tasted good but was completely useless for sandwiches and any other bread product and then sunk directly to the bottom of your stomach and laid there for most of the day.
It made me think how often I go about my day in such a mindless state. I’m either consumed by mistakes of the past or trying to stretch my consciousness out to the next
on-coming hurdle and forget how important it is to secure the necessary items to help me knead my way through the dough of everyday living. Prayer, reverence, obedience, a quiet moment to feel that He is with me and I am not alone are often flung off in the rush of the day. He is the leaven in our life to help us grow and reach our potential. Without Him, without our works in His name, we are nothing more than a flour brick, and like salt that has lost its savor, we are only good for trampling under foot.
So, in the morning, before you go out be sure your paddle is secured to the motor so you can be the bread that nourishes not only your soul but your neighbors as well.
