Lead Bread Lesson

November 16, 2025

(This essay was first published in Soul Salsa, 2020)

As we all prepare for Thanksgiving, I thought I would share a funnt memory from my childhood that just might contain a little lesson for all of us.

I used to enjoy baking with my mom when I was growing up, and one Thanksgiving she let me make the cranberry walnut bread all by myself. I had never made it, but I had seen my mom make all kinds of breads, including yeast breads. I followed the recipe, mixing everything together, and was confused when I saw the consistency of the dough. I thought it should be thicker like yeast bread, not something I could pour into a loaf pan. "Hmm, I must have missed something. There's not enough flour in here!" I thought to myself. "Well, I can remedy that!" I added more flour until the batter was thick and slightly sticky. I scraped it into the loaf pan and out it in the oven. When the bread came out, it was like a brick! We named it "Lead Bread" and had a good laugh. Mom gently explained to me the difference between quick breads and yeast breads; boy, did I feel silly!

There is a lesson in this about trust. Can you think of an experience when you felt things weren't going the way you had hopes or expected, or didn't look the way you thought they should, and you decided to take matters into your own hands to ensure a particular outcome? Maybe instead of allowing things to unfold naturally, you thought you had a better way of doing it. Perhaps your words and actions interfered with a process or situation that did not need to be changed.

That recipe did not need to be changed; I just didn't recognize the nature of quick breads and decided to change it. I changed it all right! And that loaf of "lead bread" ended up being thrown into the backyard!

Life gives us plenty of opportunities to learn to let go and trust. The older I get, the more I experience this deepening trust that carries me through all kinds of situations. Trust gives us a lightness of being by lifting our burdens, worries, and fears. When we refuse to let go of them, we become like the lead bread and our life is harder than it was designed to be.

Thanksgiving is a wonderful time to share memories of food and family, to work together in the kitchen, and to celebrate the abundance of this season. It is also a time for reflection and gratitude. inviting us to look within ourselves and practice trust. Know that you can trust the Love and Wisdom that created you. Know that you were designed to live fully and freely, to learn and grow continually, and to savor every season.