It Will Be Heaven
I’ve done it. I’ve taken the plunge. Practically everyone seemed to be doing it, especially within certain women’s circles. As much as I hate to admit it, I’ve succumbed to peer pressure. I’ve entered the world of sourdough bread making. I have fond memories of my mom making potato sourdough bread for our family regularly when we were young. My siblings and I would come home from school, the smell of fresh baked bread permeating the air. We would quickly devour a warm piece of bread slathered in butter. It. Was. Heaven.
So, you could imagine my excitement when I found a recipe which seemed very similar to my mom’s. I gathered the ingredients for the bread starter, mixed them in a jar, and then waited. And waited. I waited and watched – for a full 5 days. I would watch the starter for any signs of life, like the NASA rover on Mars. Was it bubbling? How did it smell? I even talked to it, as if my gentle cajoling would somehow make my bread starter more robust. My kids thought I was crazy, and maybe I was. On the fifth day I was able to use the starter to make the bread dough, requiring still more additional time for rising and baking.
Finally – finally – after nearly 6 full days, I was able to enjoy a slice of warm, beautiful, fresh bread straight from my oven, just as I remembered from my youth. It. Was. Heaven. And worth all the anticipation.
Patience Matters
You know, there is something significant about delaying gratification, about letting a process unfold. There’s a mystery of sorts about giving things time to unfold and form into something greater. Kind of like the reward that comes from planting a seed and watching it grow and bear fruit. And I fear it’s becoming a lost art. Living in a world which is increasingly permeated with convenience and instantaneous delights, we needn’t look far to find drive thru restaurants, instant pots, convenience
stores, instant potatoes, minute rice, instacart, buy now – pay later. The list is ever growing. We don’t even have to physically travel to a store now for most of our needs. Just order it on Amazon, and it will arrive at our doorstep in two days – maybe sooner. But are all of these conveniences good for us?
Comfort and Greatness
This reminds me of a quote often attributed to Pope Benedict XVI, “The world offers you comfort, but you were not made for comfort. You were made for greatness!” While this maxim can easily fit on a sticker for your water bottle, I prefer Pope Benedict’s actual quote from the encyclical Spe Salvi which inspired this misattribution. It reads, “Man was created for greatness—for God himself; he was created to be filled by God. But his heart is too small for the greatness to which it is destined. It must be stretched…” So how are our hearts stretched?
I recall a period of secondary infertility my husband and I experienced several years ago. Our oldest daughter was two years old at the time, and we were excited to continue to grow our family. Yet despite our best efforts, another baby just wasn’t coming. We were devastated, frustrated, and just, well, angry. We were praying, begging God to help us, as we really wanted a baby. Why wasn’t this happening the way we wanted it, when we wanted it? Doesn’t God want more babies? It was really, really difficult to know how to process all these emotions and thoughts we faced.
Good Advice
I was sharing my struggles with my mom, who was also wise in addition to being a good baker. Her words to me, “Susan, you need to get out of your head, out of your home, and go and help others.” Just trusting in this advice, yet not finding it terribly relatable to my situation, I sought out a volunteering opportunity. And this is how I began driving Miss Mary.
Mary was an elderly woman who was unable to drive across town to visit her mother in the nursing home. So once a week I would pack up my daughter and we would pick her up, run some errands, and bring Mary home. During these drives my two-year-old and I got to know Mary. And over the course of several months two things began to happen.
First, Mary became an adopted grandmother for our family, spoiling our toddler and joining us for family get-togethers. Second, I came to the realization that while having children is a profound gift, it doesn’t take away from the fact that there are many ways in which we can bring the gift of life into this world. I was so caught up in the immediacy of my pain and my plan that I neglected to see the lessons in patience and the wisdom of God’s way to which He was calling me. God was really stretching my heart.
Don’t Grow Tired…
I can’t help but think that this modern age of instant gratification is taking a toll on us, leaving us to settle for a quick dopamine hit, rather than to reap the rewards that come from little sacrifices, self-discipline, and perseverance. As St. Paul writes in Galatians, “Let us not grow tired of doing good, for in due time we shall reap our harvest, if we do not give up.” After all, we’re not made for this world, but for the next. Getting there requires avoiding whatever insta-quick-drive thru siren calls we may encounter. It requires avoiding the temptation of convenience. And in doing so God will be able to stretch our hearts. And it will be heaven.
— Written by Susan Hoefer, a CCL teacher with her husband for many years. She has been working in the Diocese of Lafeyette-in-Indiana for over 15 years, promoting natural family planning, chastity, and pro-life causes, assisting couples preparing for marriage, and empowering parents to live out their God-given role as primary educators of their children in the faith. When she’s not working for the diocese, Susan uses her gift of gab, love of music, and her sense of hospitality to help those around her come to personally know and love Jesus.