Rising Dough

"I'm ready to make bread!" said Katie as she slipped on her apron.Mom pulled the flour down off the top shelf, then grabbed sugar, a package of yeast, and salt. "We need eggs, butter, and milk." Katie carried the items from the fridge to the kitchen table, where her mom had already set out a mixing bowl, measuring cups, and an electric mixer. After measuring flour into the bowl, Katie opened the packages of yeast and sprinkled them over the flour. "Yeast looks like tiny seeds," she observed."Yeast is a single-celled microorganism, a type of fungus," Mom explained as she stirred the pot of milk, sugar, butter, and salt on the stove. Mom taught science. She knew that kind of stuff.When the liquid was at the right temperature, they added it to the flour, along with eggs, and beat it all with the mixer. Then they added more flour, blending it in until it was too thick to stir. Next came the part Katie loved best--kneading. Sinking her hands into the gooey dough, she pushed it this way and that, pressing and folding, until it was smooth and a little stretchy. Then she put the dough into a greased bowl and covered it with a towel.Mom and Katie played a card game at the kitchen table while they waited for the bread to rise. "Do you remember what Pastor Turner said on Sunday?" Mom asked Katie."He said the gospel--the good news that Jesus came to save us and bring us into God's kingdom--is like yeast."Mom nodded. "When people tell others about Jesus and let His love be seen in their lives, the good news spreads like yeast does throughout the dough, changing people's hearts. Before long, you can see a change in how people in the community treat one another.""Speaking of changes…" Katie took the towel off the bowl of dough. "Look."The dough had doubled in size! Katie punched it to release air, shaped the dough into loaves, let it rise again, and baked it."Mmm," said Katie as she bit into a buttered slice. "Perfect!"Mom smiled. "Just like the world will be when everyone hears the good news and Jesus returns!"-Bonnie Carr