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Reflections on Bread &Psalm Four An Interview With Meghan Brantingham

King David was pleased to boast in Psalm 4 that God “put more joy in my heart than they have when their grain and wine abound.” His joy was compared to an abundance of something wonderful and valuable in the ancient world. Let’s imagine we were using such comparisons: If my children said, “Our love for you is greater than our love for olives,” I wouldn’t be very flattered, because they detest olives. But what David is doing here highlights his joy because it’s compared to that which was invaluable to the survival of ancient people–not to mention their delight, grain! Later in Psalm 76:16, a prayer of blessing states: “May there be abundance of grain in the land; on the tops of the mountains may it wave.” The abundance of grain in these Psalms is both a qualifier for David’s godly joy and a sign of godly flourishing and blessing. And certainly we can assume that when grain comes in abundant quantities, bread is sure to follow. Bread has just as much power to delight us today as it did in the ancient world, and modern-day breadmaker Meghan Brantingham has experienced that joyful flourishing evoked by seeing grain turn to bread and bread turn to nourishment. Meghan’s first experience with homemade bread was watching her grandmother, “Nana” making her sweetened sourdough. “I loved it,” she remembers. “She would make it all the time. She was always pulling it out and giving it to people… She just loved to share it.” Meghan remarks that they never made bread together. “I never cared much about cooking until probably after college.” Yet, as a newlywed, she embarked on her grandmother's recipe for a short time. A few years later, she transitioned to learning the traditional sourdough methods from a Sojourn friend. For the last six years, Meghan has been working at the breadmaking craft, still seeing herself as “no-expert”. It’s this humility that keeps her constantly experimenting with new methods and growing her understanding of the science of breadmaking. Still, her confidence has grown enough to begin sharing her bread with others, and sharing abundantly, just as her Nana did. “With something like bread, there are lots of different ways you can share it: If someone wants to learn, then you can literally share the starter with them, and then share whatever information you have. Or if they just want bread, you can share the bread with them…maybe they want to pay to have it on a consistent basis, or as gifts with food.” Whether people are struggling with sickness or joyfully welcoming a new baby, Meghan loves what bringing bread signifies to others. “Bread just makes you feel warm, safe, home.”