Dear Partner in Ministry,
I've never been great at hobbies.
I have work that feels soul nourishing, and in my spare time I love to be with friends and family. A friend gave me some sourdough starter in April that I honestly took out of obligation, confident it would languish and die in my fridge. But, as the pace of my life has slowed down over the last six weeks, I've turned the clock back to early 2020 and I've started baking bread. This past weekend I spent over 24 hours feeding the starter, mixing the dough, resting, stretching and folding, resting again, bulk fermenting, baking, resting. During multiple points in the process I was annoyed with myself for not wandering down to a farmer's market or grocery store to buy some bread and save myself the trouble.
But, when I sliced into the bread after that long, slow process I had no regrets. I was amazed by what flour, water, salt, my hands, and a lot of patience could create.
Maybe you already have hobbies that force you to step out of your usual pace of life. Or maybe you're like me and wonder how you'd possibly fit a new hobby into the mix of life. No matter where you are on your journey, I encourage you to take time this summer to create something with your hands the slow way. Or generally look for the slow way: walk or take the metro instead of driving; look up from your phone as you move from one thing to the next; make a meal from scratch that seems way too complicated; write a letter by hand to a friend and drop it in the mail.
And hopefully, in this "slow way" you come back to the still small voice stirring within you. The Divine calling you to rest, to notice, to connect. Let me know what you see, hear, and experience taking the slow way!
Grace
