I recently started baking sourdough - by recently, I mean this week. I’ve made other types of bread for years, but sourdough seemed more scary than other varieties of bread. A friend who is an avid sourdough baker gave me a bit of her starter, and it propelled me to figure out what to do with it.
One lovely thing about sourdough is that even while still in the (very long) rising (proofing?) phase, the entire house smells like baking bread. It adds a coziness to our home, and an anticipation of good things to come. The kids peek in the oven, they ask when it will be finished, and we all practice patience as we wait for each step of this long process to be completed.
This morning, I woke up early to pull lumps of dough out of the oven after they had been rising overnight. I folded them a few times, I floured a couple of towels, and I popped them back in the oven for a final proofing before baking. Then I sat down and finished reading (A)Typical Woman by Abigail Dodds.
I was first intrigued by the idea of sourdough after reading another book by Dodds, but (A)Typical Woman was not about sourdough or other domestic pursuits. Rather it is about what it means to be a Christian woman. This is an incredibly broad topic, but one that Dodds tackles with skill.
The first part of the book addresses what it means to be a Christian woman in Christ. First, we are women, made to be women on purpose. We cannot separate our identity as a Christian from our status as women. Dodds says:
“When we opt to see our womanhood as merely an aspect of ourselves, we make it small and inglorious, sometimes condemning it to a silly caricature. We actually degrade what God has made; we degrade ourselves.” pg. 37
God made us women for a purpose, and though we are called to the same things all Christians are called to - holiness, more Christ-likeness, etc. - we are called as women, and we have certain tasks and roles meant for us as women as well. Dodds challenges the assumptions that different means somehow inferior, and lifts our concept of what it means to be Christian women as something glorious, that God created intentionally and beautifully.
The second part of the book covers all the different things women do and experience, and how we are called to glorify Christ in those roles and circumstances. There are chapters on being single, being married, being a mother, being a working women (outside the home), being strong or weak, being dependent, being afflicted. Dodds offers rich and wise encouragement for all these circumstances, pointing us to Christ through every possibility.
“How do we become mature in Christ? Maturity is a path through suffering with Christ. As much as we wish to spare ourselves and our loved ones pain, dear sisters, we dare not rob them of God’s blessing, that is, the realization that He is the true light ‘when all other lights go out.’ God’s blessing is Himself.” pg. 128
Throughout the book she calls us to look to Christ, to depend on Him, to seek to be more like Him, to glorify Him through being faithful in all circumstances. There are challenges here for wrong thinking and calls away from sinful attitudes, but the overall trajectory of the book is to point us to Christ and call us to live out our calling as Christian women in fellowship with God and the people in our lives. This book is beautiful and uplifting, and I think any Christian woman who reads us will find her heart more fixed on her Savior - which makes it very worthwhile.
“May you, dear reader, find your deepest delight in being what He made you and being found in the One who saved you. There is more joy to unearth and more good to unleash and more comfort to take hold of in the Savior who dwells inside you than this finite, fallen world can contain.” pg. 147
As I set aside the book for now, and go to prepare my bread for the final baking, one of the many beautiful messages from (A)Typical Woman resonates in my heart - that everything can be done with gratitude as an offering to our Savior, and of all the gifts He has given me, the greatest is Christ himself.
Note: I received a copy of (a)Typical Women from the publisher for review. This is my honest opinion.
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