Kneaded

The hidden things belong to the Lord our God, but the revealed things belong to us and our children forever.

Deuteronomy 29:29

I sit with a lump of bread dough today and listen for a while. There is hidden work happening here.

As I knead and pull the dough, I can see it is not elastic enough. Its fibers, viscous and bonded though they are, tear apart. The inner structure of the dough is not yet integrated.

How like my heart, not yet flexible enough, not quite integrated, as You patiently shape me in Your hands.

I persist, folding the dough again and again. It seems to weaken. Surrender. Now it is no longer resistant to the work of my hands. It begins to break down, and bits of it stick to my hands.

Bquiti fia, I hear You say. I learned the Arabic phrase of deep compassion long ago, during a different painful surrender.

Your pain, your breaking, has lodged itself in Me. You have stayed with My heart, my inmost place.

In the breaking I see bits of me, sticking to Your kind hands. Your compassion overwhelms me. I want to weep, but the tears won’t come. Instead, fragrance. Of yeast and broken things transforming.

Bread of Life, do Your hidden work in me. Thank you for not minding the mess as I surrender in Your hands. Thank you for the kneading, patient, kind.

When You see I’m ready, I will rest, and rise. At just the right time, You will make bread of my breaking.

Lord, do the hidden work of transformation in me today, that one day I will be a source of nourishment for others. Amen.

@audreycfrank

Be patient as you are kneaded in the hands of the Bread of Life. One day He will make bread of our breaking. #spiritualformation Share on X

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