Because of the pandemic, my children have not visited their grandparents in person for over 6 months (they used to spend time with them after school everyday). With a 16-day spring break, I told them that they could have a sleep over at their grannies after a 14 day quarantine period from the last day of school. During the waiting, my little girl tells me that she is so impatient and counts down everyday to the day when she can go see grandma and grandpa.
Waiting is probably one of the hardest lessons in life - students waiting for news of university applications, people waiting for the confirmation of who will be their next leader of their country, overseas labourers or sojourners waiting to reunite with their families, the list goes on.
People who know me well know that I love cooking. The pandemic has given me many more opportunities to practice my baking skills. Last night, I picked up a recipe developed from Jim Lahey’s “no knead” technique. It’s unbelievable how easy it is. The key to success is the 12- 18 hours of waiting time for the dough to develop structure and flavour. For conventional bread making, the baker needs to knead the dough in order for the gluten to develop. With Lahey’s method, time is the key for the “miracle” to happen as you allow the dough to “do the job itself.”
Part of the challenge for using this method, at least for the first time, is to believe that it will work. How can the bread rise with such a small amount of yeast and no kneading? As I mixed (or simply stir) the flour, water, salt, and yeast together, there was a temptation to add a little extra work of kneading. Afterall, there’s nothing wrong with just doing a little more to make sure that the dough will rise to its desirable state. However, that temptation could actually be deadly. It might actually cause the dough to rise too fast (prematurely). So by faith I left the tough as it was and went to bed and you could guess the first thing I did in the morning - I went checked the dough and saw if it actually rose overnight and it did doubled in its size! What a miracle! I could not wait to put it into the oven and see how it turned out. Finally the bread turned out great from the oven. While everyone so anxiously wanted to dig into the freshly baked bread, more waiting time is needed because cutting into a hot loaf of bread will destroy its texture.
I am reminded of many profound spiritual truths with this baking experience. Often, we like to follow the conventional baking method for our lives because we have a lot more control over the process. The no knead method is like Jesus’ invitation to Peter to walk on water. As an experienced fisherman, there’s no way that Peter could have said yes to Jesus but because He knew Jesus and trusted His word, He took a step of faith. The leap of faith opens up our lives into a whole new world - a world that is not planned and controlled by human effort but to allow our lives to take on its own course with the gentle work of the Holy Spirit. We feel uncomfortable because we cannot see the result immediately. We feel restless because we don’t know what the result will look like. We feel uneasy because we have no control over a process that shatters our logic and status quo. We could feel discouraged and lost when nothing seems to be happening. These were probably feelings experienced by the disciples as they witnessed Jesus’ crucifixion - was Jesus really the Messiah? How could the Messiah die such a disgraceful death? Was He really going to come back to life as He promised? What if, what if, what if …
What are you waiting for? What is puzzling in your life? Do you sometimes wonder how God could work in the midst of tragedy and disappointments? Do you feel like you are waiting in the space of Good Friday and Holy Saturday and wonder if resurrection would ever come?
May the words from our Almighty God bring you encouragement and assurance:
“Look! God’s dwelling place is now among the people, and he will dwell with them. They will be his people, and God himself will be with them and be their God. ‘He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’[b] or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”
He who was seated on the throne said, “I am making everything new!” Then he said, “Write this down, for these words are trustworthy and true.”
He said to me: “It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. To the thirsty I will give water without cost from the spring of the water of life. Those who are victorious will inherit all this, and I will be their God and they will be my children.
(Revelation 21:3-7)