{Day 9} Real Change: Just Pick One Thing

I swore off systems a year ago.


I no longer attempt sweeping change or even moderate change without a great deal of deliberation.


It's not that I'm afraid; I'm just careful.


That's because I used to be a change and resolutions junkie. And I often attempted too many new things at once. As soon as I fell off the wagon or the newness wore off and I quit, I felt like a failure.


More recently I took a hard look at the deep-down motivations for my constant urge to make changes. In many ways I felt that change = happiness or change = feeling better about myself or change = success.


Though I could talk about grace, I didn't live out of the rich wellspring of grace. Instead I worked hard to be the best version of myself possible. 


{And all of this talk reminds me yet again of Emily's book. If anything I'm saying here resonates with you, go buy her book. For more thoughts on that, click on my review here.}


I walk a different path now. It's a kinder, gentler, more peaceful path. I'm led by One who loves me fully and unconditionally. Nothing changes that. 


Still, there are little changes here and there that I'm drawn to. They are different for all of us but many of my new endeavors have to do with running a home and raising kids. I don't expect to do anything perfectly but if there are doable and beneficial tweaks I can make here and there, I'm willing to give them a try.


My motivations are different now. And if something doesn't work, I don't beat myself up. 


Also? I make one change at a time now. Just one. I wish I'd done it this way a long time ago. 


In light of all this, I thought I'd share my one change for this fall. 


Bread.


For years I've had this dream of making my own bread. In my dream world, I grind the grain before I bake it. Now I know lots of people make homemade bread regularly but I have always been intimidated by anything requiring yeast and exactness. 


I'm sort of haphazard when I cook. For me, recipes are simply a suggestion. But this has backfired time and again with bread. I have killed more loaves than I've successfully baked. 


Seriously, who has the time and concentration to be so precise?


But still, the bread thing called to me.


I decided I'd try to go for a week making homemade bread and not buying sandwich bread. I found an easy recipe that doesn't use stuff I've never bought. It slices thin and is perfect for toast and sandwiches. No hand-kneading involved, just my Kitchen Aid dough hook.


Well, one week turned into two and two weeks turned into four. It's become so routine that it no longer feels like work. 


And every time I take a loaf from the oven, I smile. Every time.


It's been a good and worthwhile change.


That's how I roll these days. One small change at a time. Homemade bread may last forever or it may last another month. But at least I gave it a try and found that it can work for us. 


It's a tiny outward example of some big inward change. 


Begin with Grace. Pick one thing. See what happens.


How do you approach real change?

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