It has been on my heart for many months now to start my own sourdough starter. I can watch for hours as people feed, care for, nurture and grow their starters, then take days to prepare the dough in order to bake the perfect sourdough loaf you can imagine. And then to see their faces when their efforts either succeed or fail.
My daughter and I decided that we would start our own sourdough journey. She is 10. We followed all the rules and we named our starter Oakley. Apparently if you name it, you will not forget to feed it. We have been growing our starter for about ten days now and it still has some way to go before we can bake with it. We have fed it daily and made sure she has the perfect clean home to stay in.
One day, while doing her daily feed, I felt a stirring in my spirit. I realised that I was seeing in action what our relationship with Jesus is like. He knows us by name, so He will not forget to feed us with the Holy Spirit. He nurtures us and watches us grow. Sometimes we grow and sometimes, for lack of a better word, we flop. Our relationship with Him is very much dependent on our environment and temperature too, just like any sourdough.
I can almost imagine the smile on Jesus’ face when He bakes us and we come out as a perfect loaf of purpose and potential, living our lives in harmony with Him and in perfect flow with the Spirit.
What I have found on this sourdough journey is that none of this happens overnight. My sourdough does not seem close to being ready to bake with, yet all the videos said within seven days I would have the perfect loaf. It has not moulded, so I know it is still good. I could give up on my starter now and call it a day, or I can persist and wait for that perfect rise. I can be patient in its growth cycle and trust that, given the right amount of time, it will turn into the best starter possible.
One thing about sourdough starters is that they can live for over 100 years. If you look after them well and continue to feed them, they will grow. When they are active and bubbly, you can save some, dry it into a powder and give it to others so they can start growing their own sourdough. The same is true with our faith. When we are strong, others will become strong too if we share what the Holy Spirit has placed inside us.
So what I thought was just a simple experiment to share with my daughter, God used to show me how deeply He loves us, how patient He is with us, and how patient we need to be with ourselves. If we continue to feed the Spirit with good things and surround ourselves with the best possible environment, we truly will grow strong in faith and be able to bless others with that fire.
Devotional Reflection
Take a moment today to ask yourself what you are feeding your faith and what environment you are placing your spirit in. Growth takes time. Breakthrough takes patience. And sometimes all we can do is keep showing up and keep feeding what God has placed in our hands. Galatians 6:9 “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up” speaks so beautifully into this. So choose one small way today to nurture your walk with God, through prayer, the Word, worship or rest. Trust Him with your growth. He is patient, faithful, and committed to the work He has started in you.
