PEOPLE ARE LIKE A LOAF OF BREAD
Bread has been on my mind. As a boy, mom’s homemade bread was worth dying for. Then, for many years my wife had Mondays as her homemade bread day. So, this week my new friend Wayne and I baked raisin walnut bread as a first.
This baking experience brought thoughts to mind how kids and dogs are like bread. As you know, each loaf of bread is 80% bread with 10% heel on each end. During a week at NBC Camps, I discovered 10% of the kids were leaders, even the type of child you would want your child to marry; another 10% were the ones who were just happy to go home at the end of camp. The 80% remainder enjoyed camp and made the most of the time.
How do people and dogs then relate to bread?
- If there is a short supply of food, like the real bread in the middle, kids and dogs want the same food and will fight over it. In small families, the crust is the disliked item. As you notice, kids and dogs always want what the other kids and dogs want. They will even hide what they have in order to compete for the best food they want. Yet, sharing becomes the biggest blessing.
- Without leaven, bread does not rise; in fact, it cannot be sliced. For people, and even dogs, encouragement is life’s leaven. It puts courage into another person or dog. It becomes a great motivator. Have you noticed how dogs respond to support and approval? The opposites are criticism and contempt which ruin lives. A few great encouraging (leaven) words to build up another are:
- Go for it!
- I’m proud of you!
- You can do it!
- Never say “die”!
- Stay strong, keep fighting!
- Without leaven AND the exact quantity of the other ingredients (as flour and water), and without following a recipe’s directions with precision, bread’s purposeful beauty and taste are lost. With people and dogs, overwhelming beauty is on display when the Word’s directions are lived out. It inspires us to develop faith, hope, and love.
A wonderful verse that can be related to a loaf of bread is Proverbs 16:24: “Gracious words are a honeycomb, sweet to the soul and healing to the bones.” Your bread can be smothered with honey!
